The Human Role in Autonomous Weapon Design and Deployment

2021 ◽  
pp. 273-288
Author(s):  
M.L. Cummings
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Autonomous Systems ◽  
Emerging Technology ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Automated Control ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
Human In The Loop ◽  
Autonomous Weapons ◽  
Tightly Coupled ◽  
Specific Technology

There has been increasing debate in the international community as to whether it is morally and ethically permissible to use autonomous weapons, which are weapon systems that select and fire upon a target with no human in the loop. Given the tightly coupled link between emerging technology and policy development in this debate that speaks to the very core of humanity, this chapter explains how current automated control systems, including weapons systems, are designed in terms of balancing authority between the human and the computer. The distinction between automated and autonomous systems is explained, and a framework is presented for conceptualizing the human-computer balance for future autonomous systems, both civilian and military. Lastly, specific technology and policy implications for weaponized autonomous systems are discussed.

scholarly journals The Design of Human Oversight in Autonomous Weapon Systems

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilse Verdiesen
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Emerging Technology ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Strict Sense ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
Human Control ◽  
Autonomous Weapons ◽  
Technical Architecture ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Weapons Systems

Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) can be defined as weapons systems equipped with Artificial Intelligence (AI). They are an emerging technology and are increasingly deployed on the battlefield. In the societal debate on Autonomous Weapon Systems, the concept of Meaningful Human Control (MHC) is often mentioned as requirement, but MHC will not suffice as requirement to minimize unintended consequences of Autonomous Weapon Systems, because the definition of ‘control’ implies that one has the power to influence or direct the course of events or the ability to manage a machine. The characteristics autonomy, interactivity and adaptability of AI  in Autonomous Weapon Systems inherently imply that control in strict sense is not possible. Therefore, a different approach is needed to minimize unintended consequences of AWS. Several scholars are describing the concept of Human Oversight in Autonomous Weapon Systems and AI in general. Just recently Taddeo and Floridi (2018) describe that human oversight procedures are necessary to minimize unintended consequences and to compensate unfair impacts of AI. In my PhD project, I will analyse the concepts that are needed to define, model, evaluate and ensure human oversight in Autonomous Weapons and design a technical architecture to implement this.

scholarly journals Effects of Institutions on Spatial Patterns of Manufacturing Industries and Policy Implications in Metropolitan Areas: A Case Study of Wuhan, China

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 710
Author(s):  
Min Zhou ◽  
Man Yuan ◽  
Yaping Huang ◽  
Kaixuan Lin
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Manufacturing Industries ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Land Policy ◽  
Spatial Transformation ◽  
Development Zone ◽  
Analysis Technique ◽  
Spatial System ◽  
Big Cities

Manufacturing space is a spatial system that combines the interaction between capital and institutions at the enterprise, industry, and spatial levels. It is also an important functional type that promotes the spatial evolution of big cities. Most studies focus on the effects of a single institutional type on the manufacturing space of big cities and lack systematic and complete exploration of the institutional mechanism. Current empirical research on typical industrial cities in China is insufficient. This study uses a GIS spatial analysis technique and a Poisson regression model to analyze the mechanism by which institutions have influenced the spatial patterns of manufacturing industries in the Wuhan metropolitan area since the 1990s. The results show that land policy, development zone policy, urban planning, transportation strategy, and eco-environmental policy all have a significant impact on the restructuring process and distribution pattern of the manufacturing industries through incentives and constraints. This study expands our understanding of the influence mechanism of manufacturing spatial patterns and proposes spatial guiding strategies and policy implications for the spatial transformation of urban manufacturing.

scholarly journals Normative Epistemology for Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 237-258
Author(s):  
S. Kate Devitt
Keyword(s):  
Autonomous Systems ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Ethical Justification ◽  
Autonomous Weapons ◽  
Development Evaluation ◽  
Normative Epistemology ◽  
Weapons Systems

The rise of human-information systems, cybernetic systems, and increasingly autonomous systems requires the application of epistemic frameworks to machines and human-machine teams. This chapter discusses higher-order design principles to guide the design, evaluation, deployment, and iteration of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) based on epistemic models. Epistemology is the study of knowledge. Epistemic models consider the role of accuracy, likelihoods, beliefs, competencies, capabilities, context, and luck in the justification of actions and the attribution of knowledge. The aim is not to provide ethical justification for or against LAWS, but to illustrate how epistemological frameworks can be used in conjunction with moral apparatus to guide the design and deployment of future systems. The models discussed in this chapter aim to make Article 36 reviews of LAWS systematic, expedient, and evaluable. A Bayesian virtue epistemology is proposed to enable justified actions under uncertainty that meet the requirements of the Laws of Armed Conflict and International Humanitarian Law. Epistemic concepts can provide some of the apparatus to meet explainability and transparency requirements in the development, evaluation, deployment, and review of ethical AI.

Synthesis of Human-in-the-Loop Control Protocols for Autonomous Systems

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 450-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Feng ◽  
Clemens Wiltsche ◽  
Laura Humphrey ◽  
Ufuk Topcu
Keyword(s):  
Autonomous Systems ◽  
Loop Control ◽  
Human In The Loop ◽  
Control Protocols

Fire and Forget: A Moral Defense of the Use of Autonomous Weapons Systems in War and Peace

2021 ◽  
pp. 9-24
Author(s):  
Duncan MacIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Human Dignity ◽  
Autonomous Systems ◽  
Ethical Framework ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
Lethal Force ◽  
Autonomous Weapons ◽  
Legitimate Target ◽  
Human Decision ◽  
The Military ◽  
Weapons Systems

Setting aside the military advantages offered by Autonomous Weapons Systems for a moment, international debate continues to feature the argument that the use of lethal force by “killer robots” inherently violates human dignity. The purpose of this chapter is to refute this assumption of inherent immorality and demonstrate situations in which deploying autonomous systems would be strategically, morally, and rationally appropriate. The second part of this chapter objects to the argument that the use of robots in warfare is somehow inherently offensive to human dignity. Overall, this chapter will demonstrate that, contrary to arguments made by some within civil society, moral employment of force is possible, even without proximate human decision-making. As discussions continue to swirl around autonomous weapons systems, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that fire-and-forget weapons are not morally exceptional or inherently evil. If an engagement complied with the established ethical framework, it is not inherently morally invalidated by the absence of a human at the point of violence. As this chapter argues, the decision to employ lethal force becomes problematic when a more thorough consideration would have demanded restraint. Assuming a legitimate target, therefore, the importance of the distance between human agency in the target authorization process and force delivery is separated by degrees. A morally justifiable decision to engage a target with rifle fire would not be ethically invalidated simply because the lethal force was delivered by a commander-authorized robotic carrier.

Proposing a Regional Normative Framework for Limiting the Potential for Unintentional or Escalatory Engagements with Increasingly Autonomous Weapon Systems

2021 ◽  
pp. 259-272
Author(s):  
Austin Wyatt ◽  
Jai Galliott
Keyword(s):  
Technological Development ◽  
Autonomous Systems ◽  
Southeast Asian ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Systems Modeling ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
The Past ◽  
Normative Framework ◽  
Conventional Weapons

While the Conference on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW)-sponsored process has steadily slowed, and occasionally stalled, over the past five years, the pace of technological development in both the civilian and military spheres has accelerated. In response, this chapter suggests the development of a normative framework that would establish common procedures and de-escalation channels between states within a given regional security cooperative prior to the demonstration point of truly autonomous weapon systems. Modeling itself on the Guidelines for Air Military Encounters and Guidelines Maritime Interaction, which were recently adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the goal of this approach is to limit the destabilizing and escalatory potential of autonomous systems, which are expected to lower barriers to conflict and encourage brinkmanship while being difficult to definitively attribute. Overall, this chapter focuses on evaluating potential alternatives avenues to the CCW-sponsored process by which ethical, moral, and legal concerns raised by the emergence of autonomous weapon systems could be addressed.

scholarly journals Quantum-Like Interdependence Theory Advances Autonomous Human–Machine Teams (A-HMTs)

Entropy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 1227
Author(s):  
William F. Lawless
Keyword(s):  
Autonomous Systems ◽  
Quantum Decoherence ◽  
Multi Agent Systems ◽  
Scale Free ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
Interdependence Theory ◽  
Human Autonomy ◽  
Degree Of Certainty ◽  
Human Operators ◽  
High Degree

As humanity grapples with the concept of autonomy for human–machine teams (A-HMTs), unresolved is the necessity for the control of autonomy that instills trust. For non-autonomous systems in states with a high degree of certainty, rational approaches exist to solve, model or control stable interactions; e.g., game theory, scale-free network theory, multi-agent systems, drone swarms. As an example, guided by artificial intelligence (AI, including machine learning, ML) or by human operators, swarms of drones have made spectacular gains in applications too numerous to list (e.g., crop management; mapping, surveillance and fire-fighting systems; weapon systems). But under states of uncertainty or where conflict exists, rational models fail, exactly where interdependence theory thrives. Large, coupled physical or information systems can also experience synergism or dysergism from interdependence. Synergistically, the best human teams are not only highly interdependent, but they also exploit interdependence to reduce uncertainty, the focus of this work-in-progress and roadmap. We have long argued that interdependence is fundamental to human autonomy in teams. But for A-HMTs, no mathematics exists to build from rational theory or social science for their design nor safe or effective operation, a severe weakness. Compared to the rational and traditional social theory, we hope to advance interdependence theory first by mapping similarities between quantum theory and our prior findings; e.g., to maintain interdependence, we previously established that boundaries reduce dysergic effects to allow teams to function (akin to blocking interference to prevent quantum decoherence). Second, we extend our prior findings with case studies to predict with interdependence theory that as uncertainty increases in non-factorable situations for humans, the duality in two-sided beliefs serves debaters who explore alternatives with tradeoffs in the search for the best path going forward. Third, applied to autonomous teams, we conclude that a machine in an A-HMT must be able to express itself to its human teammates in causal language however imperfectly.

Daylighting Strategies: Life-Cycle Cost Modeling and Policy Implications for Emerging Technology

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 3-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang M. Lee ◽  
Alfred E. Thal ◽  
Eric J. Unger ◽  
Edward D. White
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Emerging Technology ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Cost Modeling

scholarly journals A new old age?: Exploring the values, attitudes and expectations of baby boomers and their implications for policy and practice in an ageing society

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kathy Glasgow
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Older People ◽  
Baby Boomers ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Ageing Society ◽  
Substantial Impact

<p>As a large age cohort, baby boomers needs, attitudes and behaviour can have a substantial impact on society. Despite international predictions that older boomers will behave in very different ways to current generations of older people little scholarly research has to date been done to explore „kiwi boomers‟ attitudes to ageing or the underlying values that may predispose them to behave in a particular manner as older workers, consumers, voters and family members.  This study explores boomers views about their own ageing and considers how their expectations, attitudes and beliefs and underlying values may influence their behaviour as they age. Policy implications are then considered. Discourse analysis reveals prevailing paradigms and the degree of disparity or congruence with boomers‟ views is considered.  Eleven focus groups were held in urban and semi-rural settings around New Zealand with boomers born 1946 – 1965, to explore participants' views on ageing, their expected lifestyle in future years, what forms of assistance they expected to give or receive, and what attitudes and values they felt baby boomers typically had that may influence their behaviour in older age. Results are triangulated with existing data on boomers in New Zealand. Where possible comparisons are drawn with boomers in other countries and with older and younger generations in New Zealand.  Results indicate these boomers have a sense of common identity. Many articulated and appeared to have internalised common discourses about the boomer generation, although differences between older and younger, urban and provincial, socio-economic and ethnic groups were apparent. Most believed they would age differently to current generations of older people.  These boomers are interested in new forms of work, more flexible, creative lifestyles and more supportive living arrangements. They have a strong work ethic, but they value work/life balance, choice, freedom and autonomy in decision-making. They anticipate working longer, but on their own terms. They believe they should provide for their families, but the state has a responsibility to reduce inequities and support those in need. Like their parents they value self-reliance and independence, but also inter-dependence and inter-generational care responsibilities. There was a desire for more innovative intra-cohort care and support.  Despite areas of commonality, a key feature of the boomer cohort is their diversity and this presents a major challenge for policy and service development. Boomers accept their status as change agents. They anticipate drawing on previous experience to collectively influence policy. While it remains unclear on which issues they may converge, findings suggest the boomer cohort has the potential and inclination to advocate for social change. Processes of policy development will need to adapt to effectively work, with and not against this cohort.</p>

How can policy assist the development of community-based tourism in Guyana by 2025 and beyond?

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 555-568
Author(s):  
Aletha Connelly ◽  
Shenera Sam
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Community Empowerment ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Agenda ◽  
Primary Means ◽  
Effective Policy

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline the policy directives in Guyana as it relates to community-based tourism and to argue that the development of this niche can only be driven by clear policies which speak to community empowerment and institutional strengthening.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is exploratory in nature and used document analysis as the primary means of data collection.FindingsCommunity-based tourism presents an opportunity to advance the goals of government to include communities into the economic growth and development agenda. The vision for community-based tourism is community empowerment that develops the industry in line with the needs and aspirations of host communities. However, this cannot be fully realized without the supporting role of government via effective policy development and implementation.Originality/valueIt is anticipated that this research will serve as a valuable reference tool for researchers, policy makers and other relevant bodies with an interest in community-based tourism and the policy implications.

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