What concrete criteria allow us to distinguish meaningful human control from mere operational validation?

meaningful human control requires systems designed to allow moral traceability, adequate understanding, and responsible attribution of the decision (Santoni de Sio and Van den Hoven, 2018).

Can a weapon be ethically preferable for reducing collateral damage if, at the same time, it makes the use of force more frequent?

Technical precision can thus produce a paradoxical effect: reducing damage in each individual attack, but increasing the overall willingness to resort to lethal force.

What parliamentary or independent scrutiny mechanisms should accompany the acquisition of military systems with autonomous or semi-autonomous functions?

the acquisition and testing of emerging military technologies should include independent legal and ethical review, with the participation of experts in international humanitarian law, ethics of war, engineering, AI, security, and fundamental rights.

How should responsibility be assigned when a lethal decision results from the interaction between operator, commander, software, manufacturer, and operational doctrine?

the more distributed the decision-making, the greater the need for auditing, traceability, and institutional responsibility.

Will the European Union be able to reconcile strategic defense autonomy with a robust ban on autonomous lethal weapons without significant human control?

while asserting ethical limits, the Union promotes strategic autonomy, innovation in defence, robotics, AI, and autonomous systems through its industrial and security instruments.

Is NATO building a substantive model of ethical governance or merely a language of accountability to accelerate the adoption of military AI?

The challenge is whether this language will translate into real operational limits or merely into general principles compatible with a continuous acceleration of military automation.

Should Portugal create a national commission for ethical and legal evaluation of emerging military technologies?

emerging military capabilities, especially when they may involve lethal force, must be accompanied by public mechanisms of proportional scrutiny.

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Attack drones, autonomy and lethal decision-making: the Portuguese case and the ethical limits of technological warfare.

Aerospace & Security
Innovation & Technology
Bioethics Diary

Attack drones, autonomy and lethal decision-making: the Portuguese case and the ethical limits of technological warfare.

Miguel Vieira11 de maio de 20268 min de leitura

Também disponível em:Português

Autonomous Weapons Systems and Bioethics

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