Abstract
A technology is used ethically when it is intelligently controlled to further a moral good. From this we can extrapolate that the ethical use of telerobotic weapons technology occurs when that technology is intelligently controlled and advances a moral action. This paper deals with the first half of the conjunction; can telerobotic weapons systems be intelligently controlled? At the present time it is doubtful that these conditions are being fully met. I suggest some ways in which this situation could be improved.
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Notes
- 1.
I am well aware that this is a quick gloss over the Reliable-Indicator theory of epistemology and that there are well know paradoxes that can occur, such as beliefs that ensure their own truth self referentially. That detail is unimportant here and for a full exploration of this point I refer the reader to Armstrong (1973).
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my students and colleagues for their many stimulating discussions on this topic, which helped formulate my thoughts as they are expressed in this paper. I would also like to particularly thank Dr. George Ledin who has graciously supported my efforts in this field of study and who has given me many opportunities to present my ideas to his students and colleagues in the computer science department at Sonoma State University. Finally I would like to thank my research assistant Jennifer Badasci who was instrumental in the completion of this work.
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Sullins, J.P. (2013). Roboethics and Telerobotic Weapons Systems. In: Michelfelder, D., McCarthy, N., Goldberg, D. (eds) Philosophy and Engineering: Reflections on Practice, Principles and Process. Philosophy of Engineering and Technology, vol 15. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7762-0_18
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