A Soldier, Taking Orders From Its Ethical Judgment Center
In the heat of battle, their minds clouded by fear, anger or vengefulness, even
the best-trained soldiers can act in ways that violate the Geneva Conventions or
battlefield rules of engagement. Now some researchers suggest that robots could
do better.
“My research hypothesis is that intelligent robots can behave more ethically in
the battlefield than humans currently can
Dr. Arkin is talking about true robots operating autonomously, on their own.
the advent of these robots on the battlefield is only a matter of time
“The important thing is not to be blind to it,”
potential benefits of autonomous fighting robots. For one thing, they can be
designed without an instinct for self-preservation and, as a result, no tendency
to lash out in fear
be built without anger or recklessness
invulnerable to what he called “the psychological problem of ‘scenario
fulfillment
if it agrees with their pre-existing ideas
clipped from: www.nytimes.com 