The history of the transformation of robots: from the first mechanical devices to combat robots with artificial intelligence. The legal regulation of their use in armed conflicts

• Vereschagin S.G.

  S. G. Vereshchagin Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service Vladivostok. Russia

The article discusses issues related to the evolution of the development of mechanical devices, which became the basis for the creation of modern robots, including military ones. On the one hand, the use of military robots capable of independently acting in armed conflicts is considered today as an inevitable stage in the development of modern warfare, since they have enormous advantages over living people. They are capable of replacing soldiers in combat situations that are incompatible with human capabilities on the battlefield – this is reconnaissance, military operations, demining, etc. On the other hand, ethical problems arise associated with the application of the legal responsibility of a “quasi-subject” – an operator who remotely controls combat robots. The author comes to the conclusion that any autonomous combat devices, even those endowed with artificial intelligence, should always be under human control, and in a situation where a robot has killed an innocent person, the "quasi-subject" – an operator, should be held accountable.
Keywords: artificial intelligence, robotics, robots; autonomous combat robots, UAVs, international humanitarian law, legal responsibility.