How autonomous are so-called autonomous weapon systems – a conceptual critique

Abstract

For more than ten years, unmanned weapon systems and especially killer drones have been in use. They operate semi-autonomously and especially the use of weapons is not yet decided independently by the systems. But the development of fully autonomous weapon systems is already in progress. This is highly alarming and dangerous, since this does not only cause a gigantic arms race and an increased risk of war, but also brings with it considerable technical and, connected to them, ethical problems. The term “autonomy“, for instance, is misleading in the context of weapon systems, as these are programmed systems that decide on life and death on the basis of their programs.