Rise of the Ethical Machines
Abstract
This study examines the moral, ethical, and legal issues surrounding the development of autonomous systems capable of employing lethal force. It explores the international law principles that will inform questions concerning the legality of these systems along with the moral and ethical arguments both for and against these systems. It then assesses the implications of the current approaches for developing an ethical reasoning capability for a machine along with the necessity of establishing trust in such systems. Without the trust that autonomous systems will function as designed, operators will be reluctant to employ these systems. Finally, the work evaluates the implications of human interactions with autonomous systems, particularly the underlying, and possibly unintentional, moral and ethical consequences of design choices. It argues that while senior political and military leaders will make the final decision to employ these systems, those involved in the process must assess the moral and ethical consequences associated with the development of these systems rather than donning ethical blinders while privileging technical issues.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- AD1019463
Entities
People
- Matthew R. Domsalla
Organizations
- Air University