Are we ready for wars alongside Killer Robots?

Are we ready for wars alongside Killer Robots?

Introduction:

Lethal Autonomous Weapons System or LAWS as they are commonly named are killer robotic soldiers being developed by US, UK, South Korea, Israel and Russia to fight alongside in wars. Including India, other countries that have seen the averse side of wars like Sri Lanka and Pakistan have taken a Stand against this venture which is determined to be the most lethal and destructive. These Killer Robots are said to be completely autonomous and will be able to decide what to kill and what not without any human controlling it. UN has also shown serious worry regarding this venture for it will violate war principles and can be destructive to uncontrollable extent. A multilateral meeting has been called upon in Geneva to discuss the legal and moral issues which will be a part of the implementation of these robots. The big question is not whether technology has evolved enough to gift mankind with robotic soldiers but the exact opposite is our concerns. Are we ready to accept this gift which has all probabilities of getting deathly and bringing doom?

For:

1. The concern over man-free war is not a new concept to be pondered upon. We have witnessed robotic drones and unmanned aircrafts that have been a part of war frontiers. Technology is becoming increasingly advanced and if we do not implement it for our advantages, it will be a waste of knowledge and resources. Containing innovation is not possible, not at least in the face of new discovery. If these countries are restricted from using these robotic soldiers, years later some other country will.

2. Protecting civilians during war is very crucial. Army personnel killed in large numbers is not a good news to humanity. We do employ people to protect civilians. War cannot be stopped. Military confrontations will happen from time to time. Army personnel are killed in the process of fighting terrorism. Robotic soldiers can be an excellent weapon against terrorism just as spying drones have been.

3. Accuracy and calculative decisions that these robots could make will be beneficial indeed. They won't be under stress during fire attacks unlike human soldiers. No fear of losing their own self in the process of defeating enemies can make the robotic soldiers competent sharp shooters. With the right guidelines, the robots will change the way we look at war; lesser loss of lives and easy victory over the enemies.

4. We like it or we don't will not change the way these innovations have begun. Even if UN bans these countries from using LAWS, chances that they will obey is very low. There are missile systems like Israel’s Iron Dome and the US Phalanx that automatically detect, track, and shoot down incoming missiles. The US Navy’s X-47B drones can execute its flight plan autonomously with a human overriding it only if something goes wrong. South Korea also has the SGR-1 sentry robot that is designed to targets people who enter the demilitarized zone and shoots them if a soldier back at base gives the command. Instead of opposing countries that are already working on Lethal Autonomous Weapons System, we must prepare ourselves to meet the challenges that these innovations might pose for us

Against:

1. These robotic soldiers are not just another drone, but a completely autonomous killing device that will work based on calculations. To reckon enemies, they will use data from the database and might end up killing civilians in the process. There are reasons why biological and chemical weapons are banned, the foremost one being collateral damage. The same reason also applies to these robotic killers that can always go wrong and end up killing innocents.

2. We also need to analyze the consequences of these robots falling into wrong hands. You gave them weapons and they used it against you. You taught them how to make bombs and they killed your people. We are still fighting the ill effects to modernization of weapons and here comes the deadliest nightmare of them all, robotic soldiers that will kill without the least bit of hesitation. They will not tire out, they will kill even more easily and they will fail to distinguish who to kill and who to save.

3. Mechanical slaughter will indeed be more deathly. Instead of trying to bring peace, are the world powers attempting to bring more wars and that too at the hands of mindless emotionless machines? In no era can we trust machines to be enough competent to have the free will to decide whom to kill. The concept is only fit for Transformers movies and XBox games and not real life combats.

4. When a military personnel kills civilians mistakenly, he has consequences to face, punished more likely but the same cannot be done when a machine kills innocents. Crying foul won't help and wars will increase more and more till there will only be machines left to fight amongst themselves.

5. Machines and computers, however advanced they might be, fails once in a while. They need human intervention to be maintained and for fixing errors. We cannot trust our safety at the hands of a bunch of machines keeping a watch upon the threats of terrorism or any other attack. Humans make these machines and they do have power to alter them, overtake them, cheat them or even worse, misuse them.

Conclusion:

The cons of robotic killers far outweighs the pros and hence world powers must ensure that all researches, studies and manufacturing of these killer robots should be banned. The orders of UN is more likely to be ignored. Since India is also rightfully against the making of these killer robots, we can definitely hope that these autonomous killing machines will be put to rest forever. We can be innovative and advanced but never too sure of letting machines take the decisions of life and death.