Lethal Autonomous Robots

This paper examines the existential risks and opportunities presented by Artificial Intelligence (AI), highlighting threats greater than the atomic bomb: lethal autonomous weapons, mass manipulation, biological and chemical risks, and global geopolitical chaos. It proposes the establishment of a binding New Geneva Convention on AI Ethics under the United Nations, banning lethal autonomous weapons, enforcing transparency, and prioritizing AI applications that advance human rights, health, education, and environmental sustainability. The responsibility to prevent misuse and promote civilization-oriented use of AI lies not only with governments but also with academia, civil society, faith groups, and individuals. This work calls for collective global awareness and ethical governance to ensure AI becomes a force for peace and civilization rather than chaos and destruction.

Bicentennial Man critically explores the boundaries between artificial intelligence and humanity from ethical, legal, and philosophical perspectives. Based on Isaac Asimov's short story, the film follows the 200-year journey of Andrew, an android experiencing individuation and humanization. This study examines Andrew's engagement with virtue, art, love, and justice, discussing the impact of artificial intelligence on human identity. It addresses the ethical and societal dimensions of AI-human interaction and opens new debates on human-robot relations through the film's portrayal of technology. Andrew's experiences serve as a lens to analyze the social acceptance of AI, its ethical responsibilities, and legal status, questioning the impact of technological advancements on human nature. The film was selected through purposive sampling by three experts in the field and analyzed using thematic analysis. Seven key themes were identified: Worker Robots, Machine Learning and Andrew, Andrew and Virtue, Andrew and the Process of Humanization, Andrew and Art, Andrew and Love, and Andrew and Justice. Ultimately, the film demonstrates that becoming human is not merely a biological process but a dynamic transformation shaped by social acceptance and ethical values. It contributes to AI and identity debates, raising crucial questions about the future of human-machine relations.

Automation of cleaning technology has come a long way, with smart solutions for household and commercial use. This paper describes an autonomous robot for surface cleaning that performs mopping and dusting tasks with high efficiency. The equipment is Bluetooth-operated, with voice and remote command. A new edgecleaning system is engaged by obstacle detection, providing better cleaning capability. A metal detection system also ensures internal protection by warning users of dangerous items. The real-time alert system of the robot enhances user vigilance and process control. Experimental results show enhanced navigation, adaptability, and performance optimization in different environments.

This chapter explores the portrayal of artificial intelligence (AI) and its ethical and philosophical implications in the science fiction works of Isaac Asimov, Richard Morgan, and Daniel Frost. By analysing Asimov's Foundation series, Morgan's Altered Carbon, and Frost's The God AI, this study examines how these authors depict the complexities of AI development, integration, and autonomy in human society. Through a comparative analysis, this chapter aims to highlight how science fiction offers profound insights into the ethical, philosophical, and societal challenges AI poses.

Can artificial intelligence (AI) be more ethical than human intelligence? Can it respect human values better than a human? This article examines some issues raised by the AI with respect to ethics. The utilitarian approach can be a solution, especially the one that uses agent-based theory. We have chosen two extreme cases: combat drones, vectors of death, and life supporting companion robots. The ethics of AI and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) must be studied on the basis of military ethics and human values when fighting. Despite the fact that they are not programmed to hurt humans or harm their dignity, companion robots can potentially endanger their social, moral as well as their physical integrity. An important ethical condition is that companion robots help the nursing staff to take better care of patients while not replacing them.

Are there Isaac Asimov’s books on lawmakers’ bedside tables? Many emerging laws on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) mention Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics. But should they? Asimov’s stories describe failures of the Three Laws, not successes. This paper attempts to address this question by diving into Asimov’s works of and on science fiction. The paper shows that the wisdom that lawmakers can derive from Asimov’s writing is different from the regulation by design approach embodied in the Three Laws. Seven nuanced lessons about technological change, and the way societies respond to it, emerge from Asimov’s works.

Rus yazar ve bilim insani Isaac Asimov tarafindan 1950'de yazilan I, Robot, gelecekte, 2040'li yillarda, insanlar ve makineler arasindaki iliskiler uzerinden bir arada orulmus dokuz hikayeden olusan bir koleksiyondur. Gazeteci olan kitabin anlaticisi hikayeleri aktarirken, robopsikolog olan Dr. Susan Calvin, yeni teknoloji caginin baslangicindan beri U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men adli sirkette karsilastigi “robotik” olaylari ona anlatmaktadir. Dr. Susan Calvin, sirketin ic sistemini tasvir ederek robotiklerin dogasi ve yasalari, zaman zaman yasalarin nasil ihlal edildigi veya tersine cevrildigi ve teknofobi nedeniyle insanlar tarafindan robotlara karsi nasil ayrimcilik yapildigi hakkinda bilgi vermektedir. Hikâyelerde yer alan robotlarin cogu, temelinde insanlari korumak icin tasarlanmis olan mukemmel robotik sistemine aykiri bir sekilde ozerklik, bilinc ve eylemsellik kazanir. Boylece, bu calisma, Asimov’un kitabindaki ozellikle alti hikayede gorulen teknofobi ve eylemsell...

Autonomous weapons systems, often referred to as ‘killer robots’, have been a hallmark of popular imagination for decades. However, with the inexorable advance of artificial intelligence systems (AI) and robotics, killer robots are quickly becoming a reality. These lethal technologies can learn, adapt, and potentially make life and death decisions on the battlefield with little-to-no human involvement. This naturally leads to not only legal but ethical concerns as to whether we can meaningful control such machines, and if so, then how. Such concerns are made even more poignant by the ever-present fear that something may go wrong, and the machine may carry out some action(s) violating the ethics or laws of war.

Researchers, policymakers, and designers are caught in the quagmire of how to approach these highly controversial systems and to figure out what exactly it means to have meaningful human control over them, if at all.

In Designed for Death, Dr Steven Umbrello aims to not only produce a realistic but also an optimistic guide for how, with human values in mind, we can begin to design killer robots. Drawing on the value sensitive design (VSD) approach to technology innovation, Umbrello argues that context is king and that a middle path for designing killer robots is possible if we consider both ethics and design as fundamentally linked. Umbrello moves beyond the binary debates of whether or not to prohibit killer robots and instead offers a more nuanced perspective of which types of killer robots may be both legally and ethically acceptable, when they would be acceptable, and how to design for them.

2.3 Status of Autonomous Capacities in Military Command & Control Structures 2.3.1 Case Studies 2.4 Outlook of Likely Developments 2.4.1 Technological Limitations 2.4.2 Legal Limitations 2.4.3 Operational Limitations 3 Law 3.1 Actors and Initiatives on the International Plane 3.2 The Substance of the International Debate 3.3 Possible Developments in the Law 4 Ethics 4.1 Outlining the Ethics of Autonomous Robotics Discussion 4.1.1 The Responsibility Gap 4.1.2 Human Rights and Autonomous Robotics Systems 4.1.3 Autonomous Robotics Systems and Human Virtues 4.1.4 Moral Harm Caused by Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.2 Ethics of System Autonomy 4.2.1 The Moral Status of System Autonomy 4.2.2 Meaningful Human Control 4.2.3 Major Ethical Positions in the Current Debate against Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.3 Arguments Contra System Autonomy 4.3.1 Autonomous Systems in General 4.3.2 Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.4 Arguments Pro System Autonomy 4.4.1 Autonomous Systems in General 4.4.2 Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.5 Likely Developments 5 Material 5.1 Author Team 5.2 List of Interviewed Experts 5.3 List of Workshop Participants 5.4 List of Abbreviations 5.5 Annotated Literature

New technologies have always been a critical component of military strategy and preparedness. One new technology on the not-too-1 The authors of are members of the Autonomous Robotics thrust group of the Consortium on Emerging Technologies, Military Operations, and National Security (CETMONS), a multiinstitutional organization dedicated to providing the basis for the ethical, rational, and responsible understanding and management of the complex set of issues raised by emerging technologies and their use in military operations, as well as their broader implications for national security.

2.3 Status of Autonomous Capacities in Military Command & Control Structures 2.3.1 Case Studies 2.4 Outlook of Likely Developments 2.4.1 Technological Limitations 2.4.2 Legal Limitations 2.4.3 Operational Limitations 3 Law 3.1 Actors and Initiatives on the International Plane 3.2 The Substance of the International Debate 3.3 Possible Developments in the Law 4 Ethics 4.1 Outlining the Ethics of Autonomous Robotics Discussion 4.1.1 The Responsibility Gap 4.1.2 Human Rights and Autonomous Robotics Systems 4.1.3 Autonomous Robotics Systems and Human Virtues 4.1.4 Moral Harm Caused by Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.2 Ethics of System Autonomy 4.2.1 The Moral Status of System Autonomy 4.2.2 Meaningful Human Control 4.2.3 Major Ethical Positions in the Current Debate against Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.3 Arguments Contra System Autonomy 4.3.1 Autonomous Systems in General 4.3.2 Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.4 Arguments Pro System Autonomy 4.4.1 Autonomous Systems in General 4.4.2 Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.5 Likely Developments

To what extent drones can be considered autonomous depends on how we define ‘autonomy’ in the context of technological artefacts in general and drones in particular. Unfortunately, there exists no generally accepted definition of ‘autonomy’ for technological artefacts. What is more, my own approach to autonomy is distinct from the main-stream actors in the discussion, and will possibly not inform your answer in the way you wish.

2.3 Status of Autonomous Capacities in Military Command & Control Structures 2.3.1 Case Studies 2.4 Outlook of Likely Developments 2.4.1 Technological Limitations 2.4.2 Legal Limitations 2.4.3 Operational Limitations 3 Law 3.1 Actors and Initiatives on the International Plane 3.2 The Substance of the International Debate 3.3 Possible Developments in the Law 4 Ethics 4.1 Outlining the Ethics of Autonomous Robotics Discussion 4.1.1 The Responsibility Gap 4.1.2 Human Rights and Autonomous Robotics Systems 4.1.3 Autonomous Robotics Systems and Human Virtues 4.1.4 Moral Harm Caused by Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.2 Ethics of System Autonomy 4.2.1 The Moral Status of System Autonomy 4.2.2 Meaningful Human Control 4.2.3 Major Ethical Positions in the Current Debate against Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.3 Arguments Contra System Autonomy 4.3.1 Autonomous Systems in General 4.3.2 Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.4 Arguments Pro System Autonomy 4.4.1 Autonomous Systems in General 4.4.2 Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.5 Likely Developments 5 Material 5.1 Author Team 5.2 List of Interviewed Experts 5.3 List of Workshop Participants 5.4 List of Abbreviations 5.5 Annotated Literature

We propose a multi-step evaluation schema designed to help procurement agencies and others to examine the ethical dimensions of autonomous systems to be applied in the security sector, including autonomous weapons systems. Keywords: Ethics, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Weapons Systems, Technology, Geneva, Certain Conventional Weapons Convention, Humanitarian Law, Philosophy, Risk Regulation

2.3 Status of Autonomous Capacities in Military Command & Control Structures 2.3.1 Case Studies 2.4 Outlook of Likely Developments 2.4.1 Technological Limitations 2.4.2 Legal Limitations 2.4.3 Operational Limitations 3 Law 3.1 Actors and Initiatives on the International Plane 3.2 The Substance of the International Debate 3.3 Possible Developments in the Law 4 Ethics 4.1 Outlining the Ethics of Autonomous Robotics Discussion 4.1.1 The Responsibility Gap 4.1.2 Human Rights and Autonomous Robotics Systems 4.1.3 Autonomous Robotics Systems and Human Virtues 4.1.4 Moral Harm Caused by Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.2 Ethics of System Autonomy 4.2.1 The Moral Status of System Autonomy 4.2.2 Meaningful Human Control 4.2.3 Major Ethical Positions in the Current Debate against Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.3 Arguments Contra System Autonomy 4.3.1 Autonomous Systems in General 4.3.2 Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.4 Arguments Pro System Autonomy 4.4.1 Autonomous Systems in General 4.4.2 Autonomous Weapons Systems 4.5 Likely Developments 5 Material 5.1 Author Team 5.2 List of Interviewed Experts 5.3 List of Workshop Participants 5.4 List of Abbreviations 5.5 Annotated Literature

Lethal autonomous robotics (LARs) are weapon systems that, once activated, can select and engage targets without further human intervention. They raise far-reaching concerns about the protection of life during war and peace. This includes the question of the extent to which they can be programmed to comply with the requirements of international humanitarian law and the standards protecting life under international human rights law. Beyond this, their deployment may be unacceptable because no adequate system of legal accountability can be devised, and because robots should not have the power of life and death over human beings. The Special Rapporteur recommends that States establish national moratoria on aspects of LARs, and calls for the establishment of a high level panel on LARs to articulate a policy for the international community on the issue.

Nowadays, it is observed that there is an increase in the interest of lawyers in science fiction and the studies that link the law with science fiction. So far, science fiction has been far more successful in predicting the future than so called futurists. Therefore, it is not surprising that jurists are inspired by the predictions of science fiction to create the law of the future.

The prominent names of science fiction deserve their place in the literary world not only because of their success in the prediction of the future scientifically in their stories, but also for giving us a comprehension for the realities of human nature, social, cultural or philosophical problems. This way, they made us take a look at ourselves through a different mirror. For this reason, it is possible to explain basic legal concepts such as justice, human rights, and fair trial with examples taken from science fiction literature and that's the purpose of this article

This article introduces the subject-matter of a symposium on international law and science fiction. The impact of new technologies on human rights, humanitarian issues and indeed on what it means to be human in a technological age, suffers from a paucity of international legal attention. The latter has been attributed to various factors ranging from technophobia and technological illiteracy, inclusive of an instrumentalist view of technology, to the sense that such attention is the domain of science-fiction, not of international law. The article extends an invitation to pay attention to the attention science-fiction has given to the man-machine interaction and its impact on the human condition. Placing this invitation in the context of the 'Law and Literature' movement, the article exemplifies its value with respect to two technologies, one directed at creating life or saving it (cloning and organ donation) and the other at ending life (lethal autonomous robots).