Fighting Machines: Autonomous Weapons and Human Dignity

261 Pages·2021·2.266 MB·English

by  Dan Saxon

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