Fighting Machines: Autonomous Weapons and Human Dignity PDF
Preview Fighting Machines: Autonomous Weapons and Human Dignity
Fighting Machines Pennsylvania Studies in Human Rights Bert B. Lockwood, Series Editor A complete list of books in the series is available from the publisher. FIGHTING MACHINES Autonomous Weapons and Human Dignity Dan Saxon UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS PHILADELPHIA Copyright © 2022 University of Pennsylvania Press All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher. Published by University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104- 4112 www .upenn .edu /pennpress Printed in the United States of America on acid- free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Saxon, Dan, author. Title: Fighting machines : autonomous weapons and human dignity / Dan Saxon. Description: Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2022] | Series: Pennsylvania studies in human rights | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021015345 | ISBN 978-0-8122-5355-9 (hardcover) Subjects: LCSH: Autonomous weapons systems—Moral and ethical aspects. | Autonomous weapons systems (International law) | Respect for persons. | Dignity. | International law—Moral and ethical aspects. Classification: LCC KZ5645.5.A98 S29 2022 | DDC 341.6/3—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021015345 For Bruce CONTENTS Introduction 1 1. Elements of Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems 8 2. Human Dignity and Its Role in International Law 22 3. Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems and Human Dignity 35 4. Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems and International Humanitarian Law 47 5. Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems and International Human Rights Law 67 6. Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems and International Criminal Law 83 7. Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems and the Responsibility of States and Arms Manufacturers 106 Conclusion 123 Notes 127 Selected Bibliography 201 Index 241 Acknowledgments 251 Introduction God himself . . . gave a mind to the human soul. . . . Has not human ingenuity discovered and exploited all our numerous and important techniques . . . ? And is it not this mental, this rational drive, even when it seeks satisfaction in things superfluous, nay more, in things dangerous and suicidal, a witness to the excellence of its natural endowment . . . ? What marvellous, stupendous results has human industry achieved . . . ! Against even human beings all the many kinds of poison, weapons, engines of war! —Saint Augustine, The City of God Against the Pagans This book addresses the relationship between lethal autonomous weapon sys- tems, human dignity, and international law. Its central thesis is that the del- egation of human responsibility for moral judgments to lethal autonomous weapon systems erodes human dignity and, consequently, international law. Weapon systems “are as old as warfare.”1 The Chinese, for example, pre- sumably invented the simple but innovative foot stirrup in the fifth century a.d., and it was carried to western Europe by the eighth. Prior to the intro- duction of the stirrup, warriors sat precariously on their horses and risked a fall from their mount each time they slashed or lunged at their enemy.2 The stirrup permitted a powerful new system of horse, rider, and the sword, spear, or lance that he carried.3 The new technology provided additional lateral sup- port to the person in the saddle and bonded horse and rider into a fighting unit capable of unprecedented violence: “The fighter’s hand no longer deliv- ered the blow; it merely guided it. The stirrup thus replaced human energy with animal power, and immensely increased the warrior’s ability to damage his enemy. Immediately, without preparatory steps, it made possible mounted
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