Military 2.0: Ethical Blowback from Emerging Technologies

Abstract

The military is a major driver of technological, world-changing innovations, such as the Internet. Ethical and policy concerns arising from such technologies, therefore, are not limited to military affairs, but they can have great implications for society at large. This paper will focus on two technology areas making headlines today and in the future: human enhancement technologies and robotics, representing both biological and technological upgrades to the military. The concerns we will raise are about (1) the unintended effects that these technologies could have on society and (2) the possible self-defeatingness of these military programs. Given that society also can influence military programs, e.g., through civil protests, it is important for the military to attend to such concerns.

Keywords: Military, ethics, robot, human enhancement, technology, society, blowback