The SCU Markkula Center for Applied Ethics was fortunate to have Professor George Lucas - Naval Postgraduate School-Monterey, California- address this topic on September 30, 2013. The event was co-sponsored by the Commonwealth Club Silicon Valley section. Professor Lucas emphasis was on how robot morality pertains to the U.S. military’s increasing reliance on robots, drones and unmanned electronic systems. Lucas believes that a robot can be designed to comply with the demands and laws of morality. The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) is doing research in unmanned, underwater craft for military intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions- of the sort that might become necessary were the Navy asked to provide support for allies like Japan and South Korea in their conflict with China over disputed territory and resources in the South China Sea. It’s simply too expensive to use multiple manned submarines for this and similar missions, according to Prof. Lucas. Instead, one manned submarine is dispatched to a strategic area as a command center, with unmanned, underwater vehicles as cargo. The underwater vehicles are released to explore the deep sea environment and alert the command sub of any imminent dangers. This highly scripted, well defined mission with undersea electronic systems were said to be […]
↧