Step 4: Sources

United States of America. Department of Defense. Defense Science Board. The Role of
Autonomy in DoD Systems. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
This source is a government document from the Department of Defense attempting to
explain the role of autonomous machines in the military. It is sectioned off into several parts
organized by the table of contents. Part of the document explains common misconceptions of
autonomous machines and defends the theories revolving around them. This source highlights
the benefits of using autonomous technology while still bringing to light some of the technical
issues that they have faced.
This is a huge source revolving around my topic. It will be difficult to beat as far as
length and content are concerned. My inquiry question is How much autonomy is appropriate in
artificial intelligence in the military? This document actually defends autonomy while
discussing how it is utilized in battle. It also delves into the goals of using it in the first place
which makes an easy place to start for my project.
I am sure this is a credible source because it comes from a government website- org. Not
only just a government website, but it is government document or proposal to the DoD. It also
says below the title, unclassified, of which is proof to it being government related. This is good
because my topic is related to the DoD and this is a completely authentic source which will
benefit my inquiry.
Alexander, David. "U.S. Military Embraces Robots with Greater Autonomy." Chicago Tribune.
N.p., 09 May 2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-05-
09/news/sns-rt-us-usa-defense-robotsbre84805n-20120508_1_robots-15-ton-military-truck-
autonomy>.
This article discusses the hurdles that autonomic engineering is already facing. It explains
how and why autonomic machinery has already made it to aerial systems however it has faced
much more difficulty operating on land. There is an autonomous vehicle in use today that carries
heavy loads for the soldiers on foot although there are many improvements to be made what with
the ever changing terrain in battle. Full autonomy is still years away according to the engineers
working on them.
This is an interesting article and gives a good example of my topic in the daily news. It
shows that this is a growing topic that should be useful to study now as it will be more popular in
the future and known to the everyday society. It provides a small amount of insight to current
uses of autonomous systems in todays warfare. It is a useful source however it is still a bit small
and will serve a small portion of information for my essay.
This is a credible source because it is taken straight out of the Chicago Tribune. This is a
well-known news source. Not only is the origin credible, but it serves accurate to my topic
because of the nearly recent date. It was published in 2012 which proves more useful than an
older date because of all of the current events that have happened. A newer article will help
prove how this topic is growing and becoming increasingly popular.
Noorman, Merel, and Deborah G. Johnson. "Login to Atkins Library - J. Murrey Atkins Library
- UNC Charlotte." Login to Atkins Library - J. Murrey Atkins Library - UNC Charlotte. N.p., 18
Feb. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
<http://link.springer.com.librarylink.uncc.edu/article/10.1007/s10676-013-9335-0/fulltext.html>.
This source examines popular conceptions of autonomous robots in the military and
which autonomous decisions are likely to occur or already occur. This is an academic research
paper that questions what could possibly happen if robots are given too much autonomy. If this
occurs, who will take responsibility? Will the machines themselves one day be at a point where
they take responsibility for their own mistakes or will humans ultimately always take
responsibility for their actions? There are many different meanings of robot autonomy which
are explained throughout this source.
I am sure this will be a useful source because of its significant length and relevancy to my
topic. It raises good questions that will then help my inquiry question shape. This sources main
idea throughout the paper is responsibility when discussing autonomy in the military specifically.
This will be one of my most used sources when writing my paper.
This is an academic paper written by two students from the University of Virginia. I am
certain that this counts as a credible source because of this. It has been peer-reviewed and I found
it through the Universitys Library website. This was written by two students and then turned in
and I am sure they got a good grade on it.
Dvorsky, George. "The Case Against Autonomous Killing Machines." Io9. N.p., 21 June 2012.
Web. 25 Mar. 2014. <http://io9.com/5920084/making-the-case-against-autonomous-killing-
machines>.
This source covers much of the controversial ideas of this technology. Basically this
source is a good example of how the public would react to deploying autonomous drones. It
explores the possible threats and whether or not it is ethical. This article is a prime example of
the debate against autonomous machinery. One of the problems raised is the idea that
autonomous systems always have a human in the loop, well, if one day a robot makes a
decision faster than a human can react to it there could be casualties. This is one of the many
examples this article attempts at fighting the evolution of these technologies.
I am using this source to give an example of how the general republic would react. This is
a blog, so therefore is part of our culture. This is somewhat relevant to my topic because it shows
some of societys ignorance towards this idea. It is useful for the purpose of exploiting our
society however as general, accurate information I cannot use it.
I believe this is a credible source for the purpose I am using it for however as an
informational source it is not credible. If I wanted to actually use it to support my argument it
would be invalid because it is not academic in the slightest form. This is a blog written by
someone probably strongly against the use of this technology. It is on a technological powered
blog though so at least it relates to my topic.
United States of America. US Department of Navy. Office of Naval Research. Autonomous
Military Robotics: Risk, Ethics, and Design. By Patrick Lin, Ph.D, George Beckeye, Ph.D, and
Keith Abney, M.A. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
This source explains all of the different techniques used when programming military
artificial intelligence. It also summarizes all of the robotic systems already in place and currently
being worked on right now. Some of these robots include aerial, ground, marine, and space
robots. It takes a look at ethical implications involved with these robots. Not only does it give
examples, but this source explains the process of programming morality and different approaches
to it as well.
This document literally covers everything I possibly need for my paper. It has everything
from the technology in place, to the future scenarios, to the process of programming and ethical
debates. It is extremely long in length and might be a little difficult to sift through. It is about as
relevant to my topic as it could possibly be.
I know this is a credible source because it says on the first page This work is sponsored
by the Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research. This means it relates directly to the
military which is what I am inquiring about. It is an entire document that was read by navy
officials. The navy and other military branches could be using these systems in the future and
this is proof of that.