The AI Carbon Footprint and Responsibilities of AI Scientists

Article Computer Science, Information Systems

Autonomous Weapons Systems and the Contextual Nature of Hors de Combat Status

Steven Umbrello et al.

Summary: This paper discusses the ethical and legal issues that autonomous weapons systems (AWS) may bring in warfare, arguing that soldiers may increasingly be controlled by these advanced systems. Soldiers should be considered hors de combat and not targeted by AWS. The definition of hors de combat status should take into account the actual capabilities of combatants on both sides, and different shapes and missions of AWS may require different standards.

INFORMATION (2021)

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Article Ethics

Toward a Normative Model of Meaningful Human Control over Weapons Systems

Daniele Amoroso et al.

Summary: The concept of meaningful human control (MHC) has gained overwhelming consensus and interest in the debate on autonomous weapons systems (AWS). By proposing a differentiated yet principled and prudent framework for MHC, discussions can move forward in the weapons systems domain. This framework suggests that varying levels of human control are necessary depending on the type of weapons systems and their contexts, emphasizing the importance of fail-safe actors, accountability attractors, and moral agency enactors in decision-making processes related to armed conflicts.

ETHICS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS (2021)

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Article Ethics

Coupling levels of abstraction in understanding meaningful human control of autonomous weapons: a two-tiered approach

Steven Umbrello

Summary: The international debate on the ethics and legality of autonomous weapon systems primarily focuses on fully autonomous AWS, which are capable of target selection and engagement absent human supervision. However, this paper argues that this conception of autonomy is divorced from military planning and decision-making operations, ignoring design requirements and moral responsibility. By combining two levels of meaningful human control, the contentious notion of 'full' autonomy becomes unproblematic.

ETHICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (2021)

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Article Ethics