*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************
Atlanta, GA | Posted: November 26, 2013
TechDebate on Lethal Autonomous Robots published on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/nO1oFKc_-4A
Lethal Autonomous Robots, or “LARs” for short, are machines that can decide to take human life. Such a technology has the potential to revolutionize modern warfare and more. Opponents call LARs “killer robots” because they are deadly or “lethal.” They are “autonomous” because they “can select and engage targets without further intervention by a human operator,” based on the data they process in the battlefield, and based on the algorithms that guide their behavior. The need for understanding LARs is essential to decide whether their development and possible deployment should be regulated or banned. This TechDebate centers on the question: Are LARs ethical?
Debaters:
Ron Arkin, Robotics Professor at Georgia Tech's College of Computing
Rob Sparrow, Philosophy Professor at Monash University in Australia and one of the founding members of the International Committee for Robot Arms-Control (icrac.net).
The TechDebate took place November 18, 2013
TechDebates on Emerging Technologies, presented by the Center for Ethics and Technology (CET)
The TechDebates pursue one goal: to stimulate reflection and deliberation on emerging technologies. What is the purpose of these technologies? What are the risks and ethical concerns? How will they change society and what it means to be human? We ask experts to help us--from their varying points of view--to navigate through the complexity of deliberations that are still in their infancy.
Each TechDebate is a live event both on the Georgia Tech campus and on the Internet. In both settings, the audience can participate in a question-and-answer session.
Ongoing public deliberation
We invite you to participate in public deliberation on emerging technologies in the AGORA-net, a web-based and collaborative argument visualization tool. In the AGORA-net, go to “Technology Assessment” and select the technology you are interested in. Add further arguments or objections to existing argument maps, or create your own map! If you are new to the system, watch the video that you can access on the login-page.
