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18 Yale J.L. & Tech. 1 (2016)

handle is hein.journals/yjolt18 and id is 1 raw text is: 




      THE ECONOMIC CALCULUS OF FIELDING
 AUTONOMOUS FIGHTING VEHICLES COMPLIANT
       WITH THE LAWS OF ARMED CONFLICT
              Evan Wallach* and Erik Thomas**

                18 YALE J.L. & TECH. 1 (2016)


                         ABSTRACT

       The U.S. military and others worldwide have undergone
a rapid evolution in the numbers, sophistication and lethality of
the robotic weaponry that they deploy to the battlefield. The rate
of transformation   in the field  of robotics and   weapons
technology  raises numerous    questions about what legal
considerations should be made as we approach the step beyond
remotely  controlled drone  weaponry   to fully autonomous
fighting vehicles as human operated weapons evolve into self-
directed warriors.
       This  Article examines   the  interplay between   the
obligation to produce legally compliant weapons and their
economic costs, and assesses how these costs may influence AFV
design. Based upon our analysis of this relationship we provide
recommendations to policymakers, including technical design
improvements,    cost/compliance    policy    considerations,
modifications to increase command battlefield legal compliance
awareness, and increased policymaker awareness of AFVs' legal
compliance advantages.

                    TABLE OF CONTENTS

IN TR O D U CTIO N   ............................................................................. 2
I. AUTOMATION     AND   TRUE   AUTONOMY     IN  WEAPON
    S Y STE M S  ............................................................................. 3
II. INTERNATIONAL LAW CONCERNING THE LEGALITY OF
    DEPLOYING AUTONOMOUS WEAPON SYSTEMS ..................... 5


*   Circuit Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; Adjunct
   Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School;
   Honorary Fellow, Hughes Hall College, University of Cambridge; J.D.,
   University of California, Berkeley, 1976; L.L.B., Public International
   Law, University of Cambridge, 1981; Judge Advocate Officer Advanced
   Course, The Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School, 1992.
   This paper represents entirely the work of the author and not necessarily
   the position of any institution with which he is affiliated.
** J.D., George Washington University Law School, 2015; B.A. (Philosophy),
   Reed College, 2012.

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