As we reported last month, the government is actually starting to have a difficult time finding people to do some of their more unpopular jobs, like killing people by remote control for example. The US Air Force is having trouble finding people to fly their drones.[1]

Now the US military wants to develop autonomous drones that will kill without an operator. This next generation of drones will be known as lethal autonomous robots, or LAR’s.

“If a drone’s system is sophisticated enough, it could be less emotional, more selective and able to provide force in a way that achieves a tactical objective with the least harm,” said Purdue University Professor Samuel Liles. “A lethal autonomous robot can aim better, target better, select better, and in general be a better asset with the linked ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] packages it can run.” he said.

Heather Roff, a visiting professor at the University of Denver, said many conflicts, such as the civil war in Syria, are too complex for LARs. “It’s one thing to use them in a conventional conflict,” where large militaries fight away from cities, “but we tend to fight asymmetric battles. And interventions are only military campaigns — the civilian effects matter.”

In addition to autonomous drones, the US military is also planning to let swarms of drones loose into the oceans.

DARPA, the Pentagon’s research agency, has recently revealed its plan to develop submerged military drones that would patrol the earth’s oceans. The program is named “Hydra”, taken from the sea serpent that terrorized the waters in ancient Greek mythology. [3]

Sources:

[1] US Air Force Can’t Find People Who Want to Pilot Drones – Intellihub

[2] Why America Wants Drones That Can Kill Without Humans – Defense One

[3] DARPA Plans to Let Sea Drones Loose in International Waters - Intellihub