James Johnson explores the ethical and psychological implications of integrating AI into warfare. The author argues that the use of autonomous weapons in warfare may create moral vacuums that eliminate meaningful ethical and moral deliberation in the quest for riskless and rational war. Moreover, the author argues that the human-machine integration process is part of a broader evolutionary dovetailing of humanity and technology. The logical end of this trajectory is an AI commander, which would effectively outsource ethical decision-making to machines that are ill-equipped to fill this ethical and moral void.
The author also explores the limitations of AI in distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate targets in asymmetric conflicts, such as insurgencies and civil wars. He stresses the importance of recognizing the personhood of the enemy in warfare and argue that until AI can achieve this moral standing, it will be unable to meet the requirements of jus in bello. Additionally, the Johnson argues that human judgment and prediction, while imperfect, are still necessary in warfare because of the subtle cues that humans can recognize that machines cannot.
The paper highlights three key psychological insights regarding human-machine interactions and political-ethical dilemmas in future AI-enabled warfare. First, the Johnson argues that human-machine integration is a socio-technical psychological process that is part of a broader evolutionary dovetailing of humanity and technology. Second, he argues that biases associated with human-machine interactions can compound the “illusion of control” problem. Third, he suggests that coding human ethics into AI algorithms is technically, theoretically, ontologically, and psychologically problematic and ethically and morally questionable.
This paper raises important philosophical questions about the relationship between technology and ethics. It highlights the risks associated with outsourcing ethical decision-making to machines and emphasizes the importance of recognizing the personhood of the enemy in warfare. The paper also underscores the limitations of AI in distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate targets and the importance of human judgment in recognizing subtle cues that machines cannot. Ultimately, this paper challenges us to consider the role of technology in shaping our ethical and moral decision-making processes.
Future research in this area could explore the psychological and ethical implications of human-machine integration in other domains, such as healthcare or criminal justice. Additionally, research could focus on developing AI systems that are capable of understanding the complexities of human ethics and morality. This research could also explore ways to incorporate ethical decision-making into AI algorithms without sacrificing human agency and accountability. Finally, research could explore the broader philosophical implications of the use of AI in warfare and consider the ethical and moral implications of a world in which machines are increasingly integrated into our lives.
Abstract
Can AI solve the ethical, moral, and political dilemmas of warfare? How is artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled warfare changing the way we think about the ethical-political dilemmas and practice of war? This article explores the key elements of the ethical, moral, and political dilemmas of human-machine interactions in modern digitized warfare. It provides a counterpoint to the argument that AI “rational” efficiency can simultaneously offer a viable solution to human psychological and biological fallibility in combat while retaining “meaningful” human control over the war machine. This Panglossian assumption neglects the psychological features of human-machine interactions, the pace at which future AI-enabled conflict will be fought, and the complex and chaotic nature of modern war. The article expounds key psychological insights of human-machine interactions to elucidate how AI shapes our capacity to think about future warfare’s political and ethical dilemmas. It argues that through the psychological process of human-machine integration, AI will not merely force-multiply existing advanced weaponry but will become de facto strategic actors in warfare – the “AI commander problem.”