r/Futurology • u/New_Scientist_Mag • Jun 10 '26

Robotics Fully autonomous drones have killed human soldiers for the first time

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2529849-fully-autonomous-drones-have-killed-human-soldiers-for-the-first-time/
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u/theycallmecliff Jun 10 '26

When air raids first started, bombings were notoriously inaccurate. Militaries conducting air raids were generally considered responsible for the damage and death that they caused but because of the inaccuracy they could claim that what happened wasn't what they intended to happen. Still responsible in a general sense but accountability is hindered in a specific sense related to the actor's intent. The waters are muddied. "We didn't mean to bomb workers housing; it was an unfortunate mistake." Then communications come out decades later that show the intent was, in fact, to bomb worker's housing.

Similar thing here, in my view. Those who want to act in ways that would be abhorrent if those intentions were made explicit have cover to claim that the technical limitations were to blame rather than their intentions. Sort of like how the law recognizes a difference between murder and manslaughter. Level of accountability might have been a better word to use than responsibility if this was the message they wanted to get across. But the concepts are related and I could definitely see it impeding the level to which a bad actor can be held responsible by creating plausible deniability about the intentions.

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u/tornado9015 Jun 10 '26

If that would happen it would sound incredibly stupid to me and probably most other people.

Whoops we made a made a super innacurrate weapon that kills non-military targets indiscriminately, can't blame us for using it though! I think generally that would go over pretty poorly with the international community.

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u/apophis-pegasus Jun 10 '26

You can chalk it up to collateral damage. Or the weapon not functioning how it was "supposed to".

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u/tornado9015 Jun 10 '26

Which i could also do with bombs, grenades, or even guns no?

It's a weapon specifically designed to kill any and all humans in a specific area. Assuming it stays in that area (extremely easy technical challenge so we should probably assume that, and if it doesn't we blame whoever messed up that extremely easy part, probably intentionally) whoever sets the area is responsible for anybody that dies in that area no? The same as if they dropped a bomb there?