Ethics Of Drones Essay

Technology is changing the way humans complete certain tasks. Whether it be communicating with others, or using navigation tools for directions, technology affects everyone in some way or another. In fact, technology is changing the way our government fights wars with other countries and terrorist groups. Drones have become one of the most sought after pieces of military equipment in the last decade. They have become one of the many important tools our government uses for counterterrorism policies in the United States. Recently, these defense mechanisms have received a great deal of public attention, which has stirred up much controversy. Many people, including government officials and politicians, question the necessity and ethics of drones

Kaag and Kreps’s main concerns are that drone technology is not consistent with international laws. The reasons for the author’s beliefs is that drone technology do not adhere the principals that international laws consist of. The authors talk about jus ad bellum – the right of war, also interpreted as the right of retaliation on the basis of self-defense – and how that justification is based on false principals. The other principal that the authors feel is being misused is jus in bello – the justification (or lack thereof) to engage in a war – due to the issues with interpretation that is existent in modern warfare. The authors believe that further preventative measures need to be established to insure that drone warfare adheres to international laws.

September 11 attacks marked an unprecedented development and advancement of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones. Because of their technological capabilities and strategic advantages, drones have been used by the United States government as one of the main weapons in ‘war against terrorism.’ An unmanned aircraft was first used by Elmer Sperry, creator of the gyroscope, when sinking a German captured battleship, but its usage for military purposes began after 1985 (Shaw, 2012, p. 1490). As the United States initiated the use drones against Al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, vast criticism sparked throughout the world questioning its legality under the international law. In this paper, I will focus on the

Using drones as weapons in warfare blinds the steersman from the reality that is war. In combat, people are viciously murdering thousands of human beings, many whom are innocent. By sending in drones to perform the decimation, it makes the actuality of what is happening seem less terrible, for the murder is not directly stricken from person to person. There is an article that explains the circumstances of a drone pilot, which quotes, “He had delivered this deathblow without having been in any danger himself. The men he killed, and the marines on the ground, were at war. They were risking their hides. Whereas he was working his scheduled shift in a comfortable office building, on a sprawling base, in a peaceful country” (Bowden, “The Killing Machines”). When employing drones to kill, it is as if one is putting on a mask to cover up all the shame and sin being demonstrated. Some believe that if the murder is done blindly, it does not seem as bad or immoral. But it does not matter if the killing is performed halfway across the world at the push of a button, or soldier to soldier on the battle field. The level of immorality is the same – if not greater with drones. While on the battlefield, you are completely aware of the situation and are in the same position as the people you are fighting, whereas with

Ethical concerns of AI continue to plague the question whether AI belongs in the military. As it concerns many, there are some very good ethical reasons to pursue AI use in military circumstances. Firstly, AI use in the military could potentially lessen casualties in warfare. For example, AI robotic use in warfare could open the possibility of better decision making. "Before responding with lethal forces, robots can integrate more information from more sources far more quickly than a human can in real time. This information and data can arise from multiple remote sensors and intelligence." (Arkin, 2009) . This ethical gain could possibly almost eliminate the risk for mistake. The use of AI robotics could also show its benefits in stressful

Humans have discussed and argued about the morality and ethical connotations of war, and the means in which we conduct our wars, for thousands of years. Every major civilization in our world has an evolved tradition on what is and is not acceptable on the battlefields in which we meet. These traditions and views continue to change based on a reflection on similar concerns.

The U.S. government has received a lot of condemnation from individuals, local and international community on its use of drone strikes as a mode of fighting terrorism. A lot of questions have cropped up on the effectiveness of the drone strikes, and the fact they’re going against the international human rights and laws-of-war. Despite the advantages associated with the use of the program, investigations from different studies have revealed the demerits outweigh the merits of the use of the program.

War zone, which is accounted for a high sense of cruelty make drones technology is “the only game in town” in fighting suspected terrorism and becoming an attractive and inexpensive preference for military service (Wall, 2013). It improved the success rate of high risk missions including behind-the-lines surveillance that also reduced the cost and human casualities of war to a greater extent (Black, 2013).

There is also evidence to suggest drones risk civilian lives or at least the perception is that they risk more civilian casualties. Which, in the

“Legal, Ethical, and wise”: these are the three adjectives the Obama administration has used to describe its program of conducting targeted killings by drown strikes. (Jurecic, 2015) The question of whether or not and how to target individuals for killing, and the reactions of doing so, raise difficult issues. Drones violate international law, “which restricts when and how different states can engage in armed conflict.” (Memmott, 2013) Yet, as with domestic law, there is no conflict between two formal states. Also, most drone strikes are carried out by the CIA, which as a civilian agency and a noncombatant under international law is not governed by the same laws of war that cover US military agencies. Are drone strikes ethical? Having spent

Nearly ninety percent of all drone strikes are not the target. I am discussing Drones and if they are morally wrong in this speech. Drones have saved many lives and are extremely efficient. Although drones are reckless and create too many casualties. Advancements in technology are led by curiosity and a want to move forward but sometimes those advancements are not always good. When it comes to drones the negative aspects outweigh the positive benefits.

Advancements in warfare technology and weaponry have been the defining factors in battle since the dawn of civilization. The one with the bigger gun usually wins. This is a fact that hasn’t changed much since the beginnings of warfare and holds true today and in today’s world Drones have become the next warfare advantage. Along with any advancement in warfare weaponry comes a very heated and controversial discussion about its actual real-world utilization. Many argue that the use of Drones in war is unmoral and unethical. This paper aims to take a closer look at both sides of this argument. First, I will establish and explain the moral arguments against the use of drone

Moral, by definition, from the Webster Dictionary, concerns the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character (Webster Dictionary, 2015). Recently, drones have been put on a moral watch list by governments around the world and the people they preside over and rightfully so (Arria, 2012). Drones, being equipped with Hellfire missiles that possess the ability to travel at high speeds, carry a large amount of baggage. It is understandable why some people see these killer robots as extremely troubling (Arria, 2012). The United States’ presence via drones in countries whom they are not at war with raise questions in regards to the legality of the U.S.’s operations (Eickenberg,

The improvement of technologies especially the creation of Lethal Autonomous Weapons (LAWS) also raise further ethical questions. Michael C. Horowitz (2016) raise several

Terrorism has been a detrimental issue in our society and, in direct response to the threat, the intelligence community started to use a tactic that proved, to some, to be divisive and controversial: torture. They believed that in order to protect their constituencies and countries they felt that torture, kept relatively private, would effectively root out terrorism and the strategies that they employ. However, as with anything in the age of the Internet, nothing stays quiet for long and many human rights groups have taken an opposition to the use of torture. This has increasingly become more and more controversial of an activity and thus we need to start to look at the ethical implications of torture and how that impacts the future of counter-terrorism and intelligence gathering. Before we delve into ethics we need to set up a base knowledge by looking at the historical implications of torture, how it has evolved, and where that leaves us today. Following that the paper will head towards how torture is used and how effective it is. Finally, after understanding these first, key points we will begin to dive into how utilizing torture does, or does not, affect our ethics. Now, we move towards the history behind torturing terrorism.