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Abstract

The process of innovation through adaption and use is impacted by multiple turns in the road, many of which result in unseen and unintended consequences. While this is important to civilian applications, it is especially important when these consequences are experienced by military organizations which are tasked with the immediate responsibility to project violence on behalf of the state. Traditional constraints within military culture include the law of war, the warrior ethic, and the relationships which have traditionally been forged between soldiers and their leaders. Emerging technologies challenge these constraints and threaten traditional military efficacy itself.

  • Part one: What does it mean to be a warrior?

  • Part two: What does it mean to be a civilian?

  • Part three: Consensual risk? Soldiers, uncertain technology, and informed consent

  • Part four: The intersection of military and civilian professional standards of care

  • Part five: Dependence on cyber technology

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© 2014 Richard Michael O’Meara

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O’Meara, R.M. (2014). Intended and Unanticipated Consequences. In: Governing Military Technologies in the 21st Century: Ethics and Operations. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137449177_4

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