ABSTRACT
Hidden in the subtext is a plea for the civilian sector not to regulate the Department of Defense's use of autonomous weapons. Military planners do not want their near-term options limited by speculative possibilities. Neither military leaders nor anyone else, however, want
that the Department of Defense is concerned with minimizing "failures that could lead to unintended engagements or loss of control of the system." Nevertheless, a core problem remains. Even if one trusts that the Department of Defense will establish robust command and control in deploying autonomous weaponry, there is no basis for assuming that other countries and nonstate actors will do the same. The directive does nothing to limit an arms race in autonomous weapons capable of initiating lethal force. In fact, it may actually be promoting it.
