Deadly autonomous weapon: legal, ethical and political aspects

• Petrova D.A.

  D.A. Petrova. Far Eastern Federal University. Vladivostok. Russia.

• Gayvoronskaya Ya.V.

  Ya.V. Gayvoronskaya. Far Eastern Federal University. Vladivostok. Russia

• Mamychev A.Yu.

  A.Yu. Mamychev. Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service. Vladivostok. Russia

Autonomous weapons systems are operational, accurate and effective and are able to minimize casualties among personnel. It is not surprising that the military of most countries of the world have been using automated weapons for a long time and are interested in its further improvement. At the moment, technology has come close to creating deadly autonomous systems – DAS) – weapons systems in the future capable of performing operations without significant operator intervention. According to the level of destructive power, the complexity of political, ethical and legal problems that arise when discussing the topic of DAS, the emergence of fully autonomous combat systems is compared to the creation of nuclear weapons.  This article focuses on the legal aspects of the creation of Autonomous combat systems, their legal status and prospects for the creation of an international instrument banning lethal ro-
botic technologies. As a result of the study, the authors concluded that there is no direct legal restriction on the use of fully autonomous combat systems, but the use of such weapons is contrary to the doctrinal norms of international law. The authors also believe that a comprehensive ban on the development, use and distribution of robotic technologies is hardly possible in the foreseeable future. The most possible scenario for solving the problem at the international level is seen only in the prohibition of the use of this type of military equipment directly in the course of hostilities. At the same time, the authors consider it necessary to outline the permissible
areas of application of robotic technologies: medical and logistical support of military operations, military construction and other such humanistically justified measures.  
Keywords:  lethal  automatic  systems,  Autonomous  weapons,  killer  robots,  artificial  intelli-
gence, humanitarian law.