Requiring a human to be in the loop in all circumstances is impractical. Communications can be disrupted. Autonomy is also a software issue. It's easy for a country to say they have humans in a loop, then in a real war it would be trivial to change it.
And "robots" are not different than any other weapon. Bullets and missiles can be aimed but they don't discriminate and they can end up (and often do) hitting civilians and unintended targets. Land mines don't discriminate at all. And what difference does it make if you cover an area with land mines or put a autonomous turret to watch it instead? I'd argue the turret is better since it can have at least some ability to distinguish enemies from civilians and wildlife, and can be removed much easier after the conflict is over.
Requiring a human to be in the loop in all circumstances is impractical
At least theoretically someone made the decision to kill and could be accountable, in case of killer robot with AI that decided to kill mistakenly who is responsible?
The person that ordered the drone to do what it did is accountable for it. Just like you are accountable for where bullets go when you fire a gun or who a landmine that you place kills.
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Requiring a human to be in the loop in all circumstances is impractical. Communications can be disrupted. Autonomy is also a software issue. It's easy for a country to say they have humans in a loop, then in a real war it would be trivial to change it.
And "robots" are not different than any other weapon. Bullets and missiles can be aimed but they don't discriminate and they can end up (and often do) hitting civilians and unintended targets. Land mines don't discriminate at all. And what difference does it make if you cover an area with land mines or put a autonomous turret to watch it instead? I'd argue the turret is better since it can have at least some ability to distinguish enemies from civilians and wildlife, and can be removed much easier after the conflict is over.
The person that ordered the drone to do what it did is accountable for it. Just like you are accountable for where bullets go when you fire a gun or who a landmine that you place kills.