Routledge Military Robots: Mapping the Moral Landscape (Military and Defence Ethics)

Philosophers have wrestled over the morality and ethics of war for nearly as long as human beings have been waging it. The death and destruction that unmanned warfare entails magnifies the moral and ethical challenges we face in conventional warfare and everyday society. Intrinsically linked are questions and perennial problems concerning what justifies the initial resort to war, who may be legitimately targeted in warfare, who should be permitted to serve the military, the collateral effects of military weaponry and the methods of determining and dealing with violations of the laws of war. This book provides a comprehensive and unifying analysis of the moral, political and social questions concerning the rise of drone warfare. Review 'Overall, the book thoroughly equips readers to pursue further independent study of the ethical issues surrounding military use of unmanned systems. For anyone seeking to deepen an understanding beyond the often shallow debate that is presented in other forums, this is an excellent place to begin.'--IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, June 2016 'Jai Galliott’s book leads us through a terrain that is frightening and exciting at the same time. The book captures this two-sidedness of military robots and their manifold uses admirably well. Both a concise analysis of morality and responsibility and an impressive overview of the field of military robotics, this is a crucial volume.’--Henrik Syse, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Norway 'Why do states and militaries prefer to develop and employ military robots? How do we evaluate the strong and weak points of modern military robots from moral and technological perspectives? How can we draw lessons from the complexities of modern military technology? Readers will find answers to these questions in Military robots by Jai Galliott-a brilliant applied ethicist and military theorist at Macquarie University, Australia. … This book provides an excellent overview of the scholarly debates and tensions around modern military robots. … an impressive piece of scholarship … This book should be noted, if nothing else, for introducing social contract theory and just war theory into the study of modern military robots. … Military robots offers readers a comprehensive analysis of modern military robots, and of aerial drones particularly. This solid and sophisticated book will play an important role in future research of modern warfare. It should appeal to a wide range of audiences, including humanitarian advocates, policy-makers, students, scholars and military theorists alike.'--International Affairs 'Overall, the book thoroughly equips readers to pursue further independent study of the ethical issues surrounding military use of unmanned systems. For anyone seeking to deepen an understanding beyond the often shallow debate that is presented in other forums, this is an excellent place to begin.'--Social Science Research Network (SSRN) About the Author Jai Galliott is a Research Fellow at The University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. His work revolves around the ethical, legal and social implications of emerging military technologies. He is co-editor of Ashgate’s Emerging Technologies, Ethics and International Affairs series and prior to entering academia, served briefly as an officer of the Royal Australian Navy.