Robots, Androids, and Cyborgs in Warfare: Ethical and Philosophical Issues

Abstract

Military robots are gradually entering the theater of war in many guises. As the capabilities of these robots move toward increased autonomous operation, a number of difficult ethical and legal issues must be considered, such as appropriate rules of engagement and even notions of robot ethics. In the distant future, as military "artificial beings" that draw on expected advances in cyborg and android technologies are developed, further issues of conscience, consciousness, personhood, and moral responsibility also arise.