Why the United States Must Adopt Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems

Abstract

The East and West have differing views on the morality of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technology. Eastern culture sees artificial intelligence as an economic savior capable of improving their society. In contrast, Western culture regards artificial intelligence with paranoia, anxiety, and skepticism. As Eastern nations begin to use artificial intelligence to develop and field Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS), they will leave the West at an insurmountable military disadvantage. Western nations' insistence on keeping humans in control of warfare and their self-imposed moral ban on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems leave their armies vulnerable to sustaining mass casualties in future wars. The United States must start developing Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems to maintain its military superiority.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 25, 2017
Accession Number
AD1038884

Entities

People

  • John Ii W. Brock

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anti-Personnel Mines
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Autonomous Vehicles
  • Autonomous Weapons
  • Casualties
  • Computer Programming
  • Computers
  • Department Of Defense
  • Employment
  • Land Mines
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Budgets
  • Robotics
  • Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • United States
  • Unmanned Vehicles
  • Weapon Systems

Readers

  • Geospatial Intelligence and Artificial Intelligence Analytics
  • Strategic Security Studies

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - DoD AI Strategy
  • Autonomy