Robot soldiers would enable dictators to crush their own populations safely

Evidence

But, contrary to what is suggested by science-fiction scenarios, the danger is not that robots begin to disobey. Quite the reverse: it is that they never disobey. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 690 (#expands, via linked claim)

To justify his work, he writes, “My personal hope would be that they will never be needed in the present or the future. But man’s tendency toward war seems overwhelming and inevitable.” Alas, if we cannot avoid war, at least let us use our technical abilities to try to make it more ethical, for indeed if we could manage that, it would be “a significant humanitarian achievement.” To be sure … but in what respect could those prospective robot warriors “be more humane on the battlefield than humans”? For a whole series of reasons, in particular thanks to their “precision,” but above all because they can be programmed to respect the law. — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 654 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The danger of military robots is their incapacity to disobey — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 690; Roboticist Ronald Arkin argues lethal robots could be more humane than human soldiers — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 654

Related

• Roboticist Ronald Arkin argues lethal robots could be more humane than human soldiers (similarity 0.91)
• The danger of military robots is their incapacity to disobey (similarity 0.90)
• An enemy’s incidental human detail can stop a soldier from firing (similarity 0.79)
• Ethical-robot advocacy lowers moral barriers to deploying lethal robots. (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• The danger of military robots is their incapacity to disobey #expands (0.65) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 690
• Roboticist Ronald Arkin argues lethal robots could be more humane than human soldiers #complicates (0.50) — Grégoire Chamayou, A Theory of the Drone, 654