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Autonomous Weapon Systems, Public Opinion, and the Moral Equality of Combatants

Authors:
Daniel Lim
Philip Santoso

Keywords: autonomous weapon systems; moral equality of combatants; deontology; public conscience

Abstract:
A novel deontological objection to Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) based on the moral equality of combatants has recently been developed. While this is an interesting objection, there is reason to believe that it: (1) fails to maintain a moral distinction between AWS and long-distance human-guided weaponry and (2) fails to show that AWS are truly independent in terms of targeting and engaging enemies. Moreover, based on a random sampling of U.S. citizens, public opinion in the U.S. suggests that popular assessment of AWS is more sensitive to relative effectiveness rather than deontological reason. Consequently, this deontological objection to AWS fails and deontological objections to AWS, more generally, can be overridden by consequentialist considerations.

Pages: 13 to 17

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2021

Publication date: July 18, 2021

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-3956

ISBN: 978-1-61208-869-3

Location: Nice, France

Dates: from July 18, 2021 to July 22, 2021