In essence I think there are four broad reasons why hypothetically we might think it right to be wary of industrial robots: first, because they work well; second because in other ways they don’t work well, third because they open up new scope for crime, and fourth because they might be inherently unethical.
Every argument for and against industrial robots applies to military robots, except industrial robots influence more people on an ongoing basis (redundancy through automation) while (aside from a Terminator future) military robots influence less people for shorter periods.
Military robots and industrial robots are both capable of going horribly wrong. However, military robots can also go horribly right. They are designed to cause large amounts of damage, which means that it’s more likely for them to cause large amounts of damage in an inconvenient way. Industrial robots can, and occasionally do, cause large amounts of damage, but it’s much less likely.
Also, the argument that military robots can commit atrocities that human soldiers would not has no analogue with industrial robots. Industry is a much less ethically gray area. They do things that are somewhat unethical, but not to the point that they can’t find people willing to do them.
I don’t entirely buy these arguments. In fact, I think military robots would make atrocities less likely. Soldiers are quite capable of committing them and with robots, at least everything they do is recorded. My point is that there are significant differences between military and industrial robots.
Here is a small edit:
Every argument for and against industrial robots applies to military robots, except industrial robots influence more people on an ongoing basis (redundancy through automation) while (aside from a Terminator future) military robots influence less people for shorter periods.
Military robots and industrial robots are both capable of going horribly wrong. However, military robots can also go horribly right. They are designed to cause large amounts of damage, which means that it’s more likely for them to cause large amounts of damage in an inconvenient way. Industrial robots can, and occasionally do, cause large amounts of damage, but it’s much less likely.
Also, the argument that military robots can commit atrocities that human soldiers would not has no analogue with industrial robots. Industry is a much less ethically gray area. They do things that are somewhat unethical, but not to the point that they can’t find people willing to do them.
I don’t entirely buy these arguments. In fact, I think military robots would make atrocities less likely. Soldiers are quite capable of committing them and with robots, at least everything they do is recorded. My point is that there are significant differences between military and industrial robots.