Search: battlefield robots
08 May New Technologies Symposium: Autonomous Weapons Systems– Why Keeping a ‘Human On the Loop’ Is Not Enough
...(159) In sum, Boothby provides a highly interesting conceptual framework within which autonomous weapons systems should be regulated. His argument pushes contemporary debates forward by finding a plausible middle ground between those advocating a strict ban on ‘killer robots’, and those (few) who seem to have unlimited confidence in this type of technology. Nevertheless, I believe there is still more work to do before concluding that a human on the loop will make the employment of autonomous weapons systems safe enough to be used both in armed conflict and in...27 Dec Foreign Policy: “The Top 10 Stories You Missed in 2007”
...the robo-warriors, FP brings you the Top Ten Stories You Missed in 2007. Here’s the list itself; go to Foreign Policy for the full-text explanations: 1. The Cyber Wars Begin 2. U.S.-Mexico Border Fence Gets Cut in Half 3. Dear Osama: We’re Breaking Up 4. Waiting on the Iraqi Navy 5. The Cubans Are Coming 6. The American Heartland Grows Crops—With Human Proteins 7. Thai Junta Gives Itself A Raise 8. Dengue Fever Runs High 9. American Jews Turn Away From Israel 10. Armed Robots Take the Field in Iraq...
03 Nov Third Annual Symposium on Pop Culture and International Law: When Toasters Commit Genocide – Law, Public Institutions, and Society Under Threat of Extinction
...…[the show] reduced humanity to its essentials’. This is evident in the show’s premise. BSG focuses on the 50,000 human survivors of a surprise genocide launched by intelligent robots, known as Cylons. These remaining humans are protected by a military ship, the eponymous Battlestar Galactica. The Moore/Eick reboot began with a mini-series which aired in 2003 and depicted the Cylon attack and humanity’s initial responses to it. Season One of BSG focuses on the flight of the civilian fleet, protected by the Galactica, from Cylon pursuit (who are intent on...12 Jan Space Law Update – US Won’t Build Death Star, Also Does Not Support Blowing Up Planets
...White House site, which I haven’t included). It is more substantive than one might have anticipated – it discusses private space flight initiatives, the International Space Station and – naturally! – robots. Update: Response from the Air Force General Counsel’s Twitter feed (and I recommend both the Twitter feed (@AirForceGC) and blog: Air Force GC @ AirForceGC Still smarting from Death Star decision, but must admit weapons review would have been a bear. Referring to US legal requirements for a review of the legality of all weapons systems, meeting the...15 Nov Genocide and Battlestar Galactica
...policeman bides his time, and then, as she draws closer to him, he whispers to his dead wife—murdered by the occupiers—that he’ll see her soon. His thumb presses the detonator, and the ceremony is ripped apart, along with a sense of security and optimism for the occupying power. If this sounds like Iraq, it should. But it’s the season premiere of Battlestar: Galactica, the Sci Fi Channel’s acclaimed remake of the kitschy Star Trek also-ran. In its previous two seasons, Battlestar has hinted at war-on-terrorism overtones. The evil Cylon robots...
25 Jan International Law’s Invisible Frames Symposium: Inter-Temporality, Legal Fictions and Wartime Emotions in the Investigation of International Humanitarian Law Violations
...stronger in recent times is provided by artificial intelligence and lethal autonomous weapons systems. Many argue that, by removing human emotions such as anger or fear, killer robots seem to be more ready to engage in hostilities without the possibility of making mistakes. The absence of any emotional experience would allow, according to this position, for an unbiased participation in hostilities. But this, of course, is not clear, since the absence of combatant decision-making ends up de-humanising the conduct of hostilities and reducing war to a cold and inexpressive algorithm....10 Aug Citizenship and the Olympics: The End of Surrogate Warfare
...in stride. Why the change? The Olympics used to be a form of surrogate warfare. If we couldn’t beat the Soviets on the battlefield, we could best them in the rink. Athletes were soldiers, of a sort. As such, their nationality was serious stuff. For the most part states don’t stand in an adversarial posture any more. Their teams may, but more now in the way of the Phillies and the Mets, competitive but a healthy way. This should be counted as another welcome departure from the pathologies of Westphalia....01 Aug Michael Lewis’ Response to Gabor Rona on Targeted Killing
...ever change it will fundamentally alter how IHL regulates the use of such weapons. But we are a long way from having “untethered” drones loosed on the battlefield and I have found no appetite for such a development amongst operational military commanders. However this “stupidity” does not change the fact that, as a weapons system, drones are capable of more accurately discriminating between civilians and legitimately targetable individuals than any other weapons system we currently possess. This is because drones allow for a dispassionate assessment of each weapon employment by...13 Jul Weekly News Wrap: Monday, July 13, 2015
...released on Friday. Colombia pledged on Sunday to de-escalate military action against leftist guerrillas if the rebels uphold their unilateral ceasefire, providing a breakthrough in peace talks that had been threatened by an escalation of battlefield violence. U.S.-led forces conducted 16 air strikes in Syria and 11 more in Iraq against Islamic State forces on Saturday, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the air operations said on Sunday. UN/World The United Nations said it expects an unconditional week-long humanitarian pause in the fighting in Yemen to start on Friday to...