tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post2904144005972413607..comments2024-03-09T04:25:13.906-05:00Comments on Irtiqa: Ethics, morality, and legality of robotic warsSalman Hameedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-19278783862956557262009-05-26T08:12:56.537-04:002009-05-26T08:12:56.537-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-22548436841153016542009-04-06T16:17:00.000-04:002009-04-06T16:17:00.000-04:00I agree about a discussion of ethics of war in its...I agree about a discussion of ethics of war in itself. However, I would argue the opposite: By conflating the two (ethics of war - and the ethics of the conduct of war with robots) we may end up ignoring the issues regarding (at least) the decision-making robots in war. Unfortunately, wars will continue - but these machines (cylons? :) ) are bringing a new set of problems.Salman Hameedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04327330113822656571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-4507820205884355842009-04-06T02:07:00.000-04:002009-04-06T02:07:00.000-04:00I guess I found this topic interesting, because th...I guess I found this topic interesting, because there's now a lot more about it over on my blog. I figured you might not want me to squeeze all of it into the comments section here, but consider the above comment a trailer for the post.Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02733799054106197853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38085367.post-32549156676830047762009-04-06T01:26:00.000-04:002009-04-06T01:26:00.000-04:00I watched this first, before I took the plunge int...I watched this first, before I took the plunge into the videos from the McGill conference. Lots of interesting questions, but I have one big worry: I don't want discussions over the ethics of robots in war as a distraction of discussing the ethics of war. I know the point was that the ethics of technology in war is an important and largely unaddressed issue within the ethics of war, but I don't want people worrying about robots killing at the expense of worrying about people killing.<BR/><BR/>I don't know how to anticipate how one will affect the other-- Singer has some speculation on this, as in his discussion of the depersonalization or disconnection of both the warrior and adversary. But it seems to me that War has been getting less personal for its entire history. Trench warfare and chemical warfare in world war one, air warfare in world war two, the atomic bomb, .50 caliber sniper rifles, tomahawk missiles, etc. are all technological progressions in war that have led to depersonalization and disconnection. "All Quiet on the Western Front" was written not about the last few major wars, but the one at the very beginning of the 20th century.<BR/><BR/>Maybe that should be the first issue to impact speculation on the effect of robotic warfare-- that it doesn't just change the context of war, but that the context of war has already changed. The situations in which drones are used are different from WWII, Vietnam, or even the first Gulf War. Increasing perceptions of disconnect and depersonalization has been happening throughout the last century(for another literary instantiation of this, I would recommend Anthony Swafford's "Jarhead"). Maybe robotic warfare isn't as revolutionary is its technological trappings would have us believe, and we should take the opportunity of the shock caused by the novelty of robotic weapons to re-open discussion about the ethics of war, period.Donhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02733799054106197853noreply@blogger.com