Fifth Research

My topic
: Human soldiers are more effective than military robots.
What I want to learn from this source
: Disadvantages of military robots
Sources
https://sites.google.com/a/cortland.edu/military-robots/home
http://www.armyofrobots.com/effects-and-impact-of-military.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/0218/The-pros-and-cons-of-a-robot-army
Notes
*Disadvantages of military robot
 Every product on the market today has its benefits, but also has its downsides. Some of these downsides are minor while others can influence the way people feel about a certain situation. The use of military robotics has its peaks with saving lives, but what happens when technology is so rapidly changing that more and more types of robots are being created. For example, in years to come there will be all different types of new military production. Whenever a robot is shut down or shot down, a new one is simply created in its spot ("Military robots," 2011). Robots will no longer be controlled by humans and human armies will be no longer as significant. This is of course an opinion, but does not stretch too far from what may appear a century later. In 2009, academics and technical professionals met and held a conference together to talk about the possibility of robots being able to become self – sustained ("Military robots," 2011).  In other words, these professionals were worried about military robots being able to make choices on their own without human influence. This possibility has led to a lot of questioning in the field of robotics, not just in the military alone. Can computers and robots be truly trusted even though they are not humans? They also bring forward a chance to which they might be able to attain any scale of autonomy ("Military robots," 2011). To what extent they could utilize such abilities to possibly cause any threat or danger is still up for discussion ("Military robots," 2011). According to CBC News Broadcasted Documentary, Remote Control War, autonomous robots are no longer science fiction anymore (Mair 2011). The broadcast team traveled all over various countries in the world, also entering the Pentagon, robotic production facilities and cutting-edge research laboratories (Mair 2011) While discovering the latest technology, they came up with a serious question that needed to be answered. This question was as follows; what are the new rules of engagement for robots that kill humans in wartime? This is a major disadvantage associated with military robots. If the future holds independent, acting robots acting on their own how would they be able to decide right from wrong? Would we hold a robot accountable for a death that shouldn’t have occurred or could we even conclude that? These are a few scenarios that one must consider as disadvantages for future military robotic use. Another disadvantage of military robots would be the cost of creating them. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Military Funding has increased from $316 billion in 2001 to $671 billion in 2010 (Shah, 2011). The U.S. defense percentages show more than half of all spending; others include health, education, which accommodate for only an eighth of that percentage (Shah, 2011). A lot of this money is coming out of the income taxes that are collected by the government from its citizens. In the end these numbers show the greater picture of U.S. military spending with military robots being at the top of the funding list.

But one should not forget about the certain effects and impact of military robots.

When we consider the effects and impact of military robots, we can say that these involves certain potential risks. In 2009, academics & technical professionals held a conference and discussed the impact of the speculative possibility that robots and computers could become self- sustaining and able to make their own decisions. They also bring forward the possibility and the range to which computers & robots might be able to achieve any scale of autonomy, and to what extent they could utilize such abilities to possibly cause any threat or danger. They briefly discuss about the effects of military robots.

Experts have also jotted that some robots have acquired several forms of semi-autonomy, which includes the ability to find power sources on their own and the ability to select target to attack independently. They also noted that some computer viruses can avoid elimination. Besides this, they also considered self-awareness as depicted in science-fiction is probably unlikely, but that there were other potential hazards and pitfalls. Some experts and academics have questioned the use of robots for military combat, especially when such robots are given some degree of autonomous functions. The above information on effects and impact of military robots will help you more about these robots and their effects.

The question of whether to deploy on the battlefield armed robots that would make their own decisions has raised many ethical questions, among them:

• Will robot fighters be able to distinguishing between enemy troops and innocent civilians? Must robot fighters do this perfectly or is it enough if they merely make good decisions more often than human soldiers?
• Can programmers imagine every situation that robots will encounter on the battlefield? If not, robots could make lethal mistakes when first deployed.
• Might robots be “hacked” by the enemy and turned against friendly troops? If robots contained a remote “kill switch” to shut them down in case that happened, might that be hacked by the enemy to disable them?
• What if rogue friendly soldiers override a robot’s safety and ethical programs and use it to take some action against the rules of war?
• If robots break the rules of war, who takes responsibility? The manufacturer? The programmer? The nearest human commander?
• If robots gather information on the conduct of human troops using video or other sensors, might soldiers feel they are being “spied on” and resent the robots, thus harming morale?
• If robots reduce casualties for an aggressor, might they make war more likely, especially against a technologically inferior opponent?

Final thoughts

:Generally, the two big reasons are lack of judgement and cost of creating them.