Trust, Confidence, and the Future of Warfare
Julia Macdonald and Jacquelyn Schneider
February 5, 2018
Over the past 15 years drones have become an accepted tool of U.S. military policy. These platforms have become so popular that remotely piloted, unmanned, and increasingly autonomous weapon systems have been central to the Department of Defense’s third offset strategy, which calls for increasing investments in these technologies to maintain America’s technological edge. Conversations surrounding the potential of these new technologies often focus on their capabilities and ability to increase combat effectiveness. Yet the introduction of these new platforms raises a host of other interesting questions that relate not only to their legal and ethical implications, but also issues of human-machine relationships. In a December article in Foreign Affairs we described the results of a research project that focused on this latter issue in particular, highlighting trust issues that ground personnel have voiced when using unmanned aircraft in a number of combat scenarios. In response to our piece, Jon Askonas and Colby Howard wrote an article for War on the Rocks that raised a number of concerns about our findings. We appreciate the authors’ engagement with our research.
https://warontherocks.com/2018/02/trust-confidence-future-warfare/
