Schwartz, Joshua A, and Matthew Fuhrmann. “MIT Center for International Studies.” Do Armed Drones Reduce Terrorism? Here’s the Data. | MIT Center for International Studies, 18 Aug. 2022, cis.mit.edu/publications/analysis-opinion/2022/do-armed-drones-reduce-terrorism-here%E2%80%99s-data.
Originally published in the Washington Times and written by a political science professor at MIT, the article makes very interesting claims about the efficacy of unmanned aerial vehicles and the ethical dilemmas they pose. The article seems well researched and there does not appear to be an overt bias. I also agree with the claim that drones are in fact an effective tool in combating terrorism. Though, the article does not reference AI directly.
Docherty, Bonnie. “Losing Humanity.” Human Rights Watch, 19 Nov. 2012, www.hrw.org/report/2012/11/19/losing-humanity/case-against-killer-robots.
An older article, though one that still has quite a bit of merit. Published by the NGO Human Rights Watch, their anti-drone/AI bias is clear. However, the terms they coined like human-in-the-loop vs human-on-the-loop are very useful for this discussion. It also provides a solid background and motive for one side of the AI and warfare debate.
“LS3: Legged Squad Support System.” Legged Squad Support System (LS3), 2012, www.darpa.mil/research/programs/legged-squad-support-system.
An article giving a synopsis on a 2012 contract between DARPA and Boston Dynamics seeking to create what is essentially a robotic pack mule. I think this gives a great proof of concept for potential military machines that would benefit greatly from AI.
Söderström, Jenny, and Ulrike Franke. “Star Tech Enterprise: Emerging Technologies in Russia’s War on Ukraine.” ECFR, 28 Sept. 2023, ecfr.eu/publication/star-tech-enterprise-emerging-technologies-in-russias-war-on-ukraine/.
The European think tank offers quite a bit of detail on the current applications of AI in the Russo-Ukranian war. Though the source does not shy away from their support of Ukraine in the conflict, it demonstrates an interesting motive as for why people would support the proliferation of autonomous weapon systems. It is also worth noting that both authors specialize in foreign and defense policy and it shows in their work.
Goncharuk, Vitaly. “Russia’s War in Ukraine: Artificial Intelligence in Defence of Ukraine.” ICDS, 27 Sept. 2024, icds.ee/en/russias-war-in-ukraine-artificial-intelligence-in-defence-of-ukraine/.
Konert, Anna, and Tomasz Balcerzak. Military Autonomous Drones (Uavs) – from Fantasy to Reality. Legal and Ethical Implications., Sciencedirect, 2021, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352146521008838.
de Swarte, Thibault, et al. “Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Human Values: The Cases of Military Drones and Companion Robots – Artificial Life and Robotics.” Springer, 29 Jan. 2019, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10015-019-00525-1#Sec3.
Caballero-Martin, Daniel, et al. “Artificial Intelligence Applied to Drone Control: A State of the Art.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, 3 July 2024, www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/8/7/296.
Prof L
April 4, 2025 — 5:09 pm
Alex, if you submit this (and the proposal) to RP assignments 3 and 4, I’ll provide feedback at the end of my conference schedule for today! The assignments are open until tonight…
Prof L
April 4, 2025 — 5:11 pm
And one recommendation, a very recent source that might help you directly or indirectly via its bibliography:
Watts, Tom Fa, and Ingvild Bode. “Machine Guardians: The Terminator, AI Narratives and US
Regulatory Discourse on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems.” Cooperation and
Conflict, vol. 59, no. 1, Mar. 2024, pp. 107–28. DOI.org (Crossref),
https://doi.org/10.1177/00108367231198155.