UVs, Network-centric Operations, and the Challenge for Arms Control

Abstract

The development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other unmanned vehicles (UVs) goes back at least a hundred years. During the Cold War they were used primarily for reconnaissance missions over heavily defended territories. In more recent times modern armed forces have begun to arm UVs and there is now the prospect that conventional wars (and not just nuclear wars) could be fought by remote control across continents. Defensive and reconnaissance roles for UVs seem to be far less ethically and legally problematic than the new offensive roles that UVs are gradually taking over. The growing autonomy of armed UVs is a particular concern as it raises the spectre of Terminators that can decide by themselves when to attack and what target to engage. As pointed out in the pr cis article, although we are still a long way from fully autonomous UVs, there are good reasons to assume that full autonomy for military UVs could materialise in the future because of rapid technological progress and because of considerations relating to military effectiveness. In the absence of relevant laws for restricting military UVs there could be serious negative consequences, such as increased dangers for civilians as a result of out of control robots, an increased propensity towards the use of force as a result of a combination of low political costs and a 'Playstation' mentality that makes killing too easy, and even the increased danger of accidental war triggered by automated defensive systems. At the same time, Brendan Gogarty and Meredith Hagger expressed hope that '[t]here is still a chance to at least shape the way UVs are used and how far they proliferate within militaries and beyond.'