Realities of Autonomous Weapons

Thomas Christian Bächle is Head of the Digital Society Research Programme at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society in Berlin and Researcher at the University of Bonn.Jascha Bareis is Researcher at the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Associate Researcher at the Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society.

“This book lays bare a chilling paradox: Autonomous Weapon Systems are products of the same technical rationality proposed for their control.” Tero Karppi, University of Toronto

• The realities of autonomous weapons: Hedging a hybrid space of fact and fiction - Jascha Bareis & Thomas Christian BächleI.Narratives and TheoriesARTWORK. «The Unreachable Myth: Killing unknown victims with insensible means by unidentified perpetrators for unapparent reason» By Jinyu Wang, 2023The AI-Lure of US Airpower: Imaginaries of disruption in the pursuit of technological superiority since the early 20th century - Jennifer RookeFrom Maschinenmensch to Robot Bubs: Female-presenting autonomous weapons systems in live-action films from 1927-2022 - Rebecca JonesAutonomous weapons in fiction and the fiction of autonomous weapons - Teresa Heffernan From the reel to the real: Narratives of weaponized artificial intelligence technologies in India - Ingvild Bode & Shimona Mohan II.Technologies and MaterialitiesARTWORK. «Transformator». By Peter Behrbohm, since 2013Il/legal war: Expanding the frame of meaningful human control from military operations to democratic governance - Lucy SuchmanFrom network-centric warfare to autonomous warfighting networks: Recontextualising autonomous weapons systems imaginaries - Christoph ErnstGoverning autonomies: Imagining responsible AI in the European armament project 'Future Combat Air System' - Jens HälterleinNew media, new enemies: The emergence of automated weapons in counterterrorism - Jeremy Packer and Joshua ReevesIII.Politics and EthicsARTWORK. «XCI|XCIX, (91|99)» By Johannes Weilandt, 2023Engineering moral failure? The challenges of algorithmic ethics for lethal autonomous weapon systems - Elke SchwarzLegitimizing and contesting Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems in Japan: A multi-layered analysis of public discourse - Bernhard SeidlThe reality of (past) Future Air Combat Systems: Climate wars, carbon costs and rare earth elements - Jutta Weber Showcasing power, performing responsibility? Introducing military AI discourses in China - Thomas Christian Bächle and Xiran Liu