How does technology change the way we fight or think about war? Are autonomous weapons systems the silver bullet that will "solve war" and make it nice and clean? What impact have drones had on the war in Ukraine? Are autonomous weapons really used? What can we learn from tragedy when it comes to taking responsibility for how we fight? Why don't we just let the robots do the fighting?

In addition to presenting his research, Neil Renic, lecturer in military ethics at the University of New South Wales, offers his perspectives on the black box problem, the idea of meaningful human control over weapons systems, programming ethics into machines, and the future development and regulation of autonomous weapons.

Shownotes:

Producer and host: Sune With [email protected]

Cover art: Sebastian Gram

Dovidka.info, 2025, “Attack by drones dropping explosives: how to protect yourself” (accessed 12. March 2025)

https://dovidka.info/en/in-the-combat-area/

Renic, Neil, 2024, “The Cost of Atrocity: Strategic Implications of Russian Battlefield Misconduct in Ukraine”. Ethics and International Affairs. doi:10.1017/S0892679424000054.  

Renic, Neil and Benoit Pelopidas. 2024. “The Tragicized Politics of Nuclear Weapons and Armed Drones and the Making of Unaccountability”, Ethics and International Affairs. http://doi.org/10.1017/S0892679424000145.  

Renic, Neil and Christenson, Johan, 2024, “Drones, the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the Future of Armed Conflict”,CMS Report. 

 https://cms.polsci.ku.dk/english/publications/drones-the-russo-ukrainian-war-and-the-future-of-armed-conflict/.

 Renic, Neil, 2024, "Tragic Reflection, political wisdom, and the future of algorithmic war," Australian Journal of International Affairs. http://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2024.2328299. 

Renic, Neil and Schwarz, Elke, 2023, "Crimes of Dispassion: Autonomous Weapons and The Moral Challenge of Systematic Killing," Ethics and International Affairs. http://doi.org/10.1017/S0892679423000291. 

Renic, Neil, 2023, "Remote Warfare: Trends, Drivers, Limits," in Routledge Handbook of the Future of Warfare. Edited by A. Gruszczak, S. Kaempf.

Renic, Neil, 2022, "Superweapons and the Myth of Technological Peace." The European Journal of International Relations. https://doi.org/10.1177/13540661221136764. 

Renic, Neil, 2020, “Asymmetric Killing: Risk Avoidance, Just War, and the Warrior Ethos”, Oxford University Press. : https://global.oup.com/academic/product/asymmetric-killing-9780198851462?cc=de&lang=en&

Star Trek, 1967, ”A Taste of Armageddon”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Taste_of_Armageddon

United Nations, 11. February 2025, “Short-range drones: The deadliest threat to civilians in Ukraine” (Assessed 12. March 2025)

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/02/1160016

Music: Sofus Forsberg