Killer robots become reality

Drones are known to play crucial roles in the war in Ukraine. At present, drones are simply an addition to the 20th-century-style war, but they are set to transform how wars would look 10 years from now.

Drone technology advances over time, but the role of drones of today will drive the development of robot-oriented weapons. Performance is not entirely credible as of present, but drone-type small tanks and small robots have been developed, with more to come.

Most drones are controlled by humans, but the development of autonomous robot weapons does not seem too far away. There had been ethical debates on killer robots. For example, scenes from the movie “The Terminator” where robot soldiers and planes hunted for people were shocking. Though these scenes were set in fiction, people grow hesitant and become troubled by robot killing.

However, history shows that these debates were always triggered whenever a new and powerful weapon was developed. When firelocks and cannons were invented, some said that they had to be restricted in quantity from being used in war or prohibited from production because they were so powerful and lethal.

However, such reasonable concerns were always defeated by reality. Once a war broke out, the need to remove enemies and win conquered philosophical and ethical thinking. Drones played such a role in the recent war. A drone drops a grenade in a hatch-open tank before a solder lying in the trenches. A few days ago, a video of a solider pleading to the drone not to attack was revealed. After witnessing such a scene, people would find it hard not to think of replacing that soldier’s place with a drone.

In the face of desperate reality, interest controls human behavior, not justification. Drones in war have shown that the idea of killer robots may become a reality. Young people who do not wish to perform military service under conscription may opt for robot conscription rather than the voluntary military system. Whether we like it or not, we are growing one step closer to the world we only imagined.