Roboethics - Ethical Engineering for International Development and Environmental Sustainability - page 86

from the consequences of the use of military force and feelings of responsibility.
Thus, the use of robotic aircraft, underwater vehicles or missiles is likely to increase
both the incidents of violent confl ict and war and the number of civilian deaths in
them. As discussed in Chap. 11 , armed drones have already been used to kill 'mili-
tants' in Pakistan by operators based in the USA. Thus, their use has the potential to
extend the scope of the battlefi eld, for instance, from the USA to the rest of the
world. This is very worrying and has serious ethical implications.
The use of advanced military technologies, such as robotics, is likely to be the
most 'effective' and make the greatest difference in confl icts where there is a great
disparity between the resources available to the two sides. Their use therefore has
the potential to increase the likelihood of massacres and other human rights viola-
tions. In the case where the sides are more nearly balanced in resources, the use of
robots is unlikely to give a signifi cant advantage or be particularly effective. In
confl icts between two highly industrialised nations, it would be possible to imagine
two robot armies fi ghting each other with little involvement of humans. This would
reduce the loss of life of combatants but not necessarily of civilians and would also
lead to some or even signifi cant destruction of infrastructure. However, in this case,
if it is really not possible for the two (or more) sides to get together to discuss the
issues, it would be a lot more sensible to use a game of Robotsoccer to decide the
outcome. The development of expensive military technology, such as military
robots, also has very high opportunity costs, as it diverts scarce resources from other
areas which benefi t people and/or the environment. For instance, several studies
have shown (e.g. Anderson et al. 1991 ; Knight et al. 1996 ; Melman 1988 ) that mili-
tary spending reduces economic growth and productive investment and creates
fewer jobs and lower total income than spending on education, public transport,
health care and construction for home weatherproofi ng.
In addition to the impact on specifi c confl icts, robotic weapons can effect inter-
national stability more generally. New weapons are likely to be a source of increased
instability. This is particularly relevant to robotic weapons with some degree of
autonomous fi ring, since this can reduce barriers to indiscriminate killing, violent
confl ict and war and increase the proportion of civilian casualties. Therefore, the
development of military robots is likely to reduce international stability and should
be avoided.

5.3 Armed Robotic Security Forces

'Robosoldiers' were developed by Thai scientists. A particular example is
Roboguard which is intended to provide a cheap alternative to soldiers, policemen
and security forces. It is armed with a pistol or gun and equipped with a small video
camera and infrared sensors. The user can control the Roboguard remotely over the
Internet and only needs to enter the password and give the command to shoot a
suspected intruder. The ability to shoot from a distance and without having to actu-
ally see the person being shot is likely to lower barriers to shooting. It also both