Ethics of Robotic Warfare Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethics of Robotic Warfare - Research Paper Example During military missions such as Operation Iraq Freedom in Iraq and Operation enduring Freedom in Afghanistan the US troops used 6,000 unmanned robotic systems. Systems such as the Global Hawk and Reaper are highly effective in reconnaissance, munitions delivery, air/ground survey and photography (Weber 11). These robotic operations are helpful as they help commanders make rational, intelligent and well informed military decisions in times of war. Although the robots may be used for tactical defense and other war actions, there remains the question of ethics behind the use of robots in warfare. Capurro and Nagenborg state that â€Å"robots are and will remain in the foreseeable future dependent on human ethical scrutiny as well as on the moral and legal responsibility of humans (54).† What exactly is robotic ethics? Ethics is a discipline that is concerned with morals and values that explicitly or implicitly underlie human behavior. Robotic ethics therefore, is the term used to describe the moral norms and values that relate to the use of robots where human life or interest is concerned. The interaction of humans and robots raises some difficult but serious questions regarding the creation of war machines that may or may not be morally inclined to carry out war operations (McDaniel 99). The big question here is: does the world really need robotic welfare? Issues arise regarding the application of these robots for example, the use of these robots in warfare, ramification of labor and the intentional manipulation of the human beings by the robot creatures (Brey, Briggle and Waelbers 45). Of great concern has the use of the robots for warfare as it would be discussed in this paper. The use of the robots has short term ethical consequences which are very serious. The ethics of the battlefield have for a long time been a huge problem and caused a lot of constraint for military conduct. The Geneva Conventions were created

RISK MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

RISK MANAGEMENT - Essay Example Strong leadership defines the risk culture and shares that vision with management. Leadership acts as if it believes in its vision. In the feedback cycle, leadership listens to new risks identified and responds with a course of action consistent with the culture of risk. (Marks and Rassmussen, 2010) (Hopkin, 2010) Management commits to the leadership vision and manages to that standard. Teamwork is essential throughout the workforce and it is management that provides the regulation of the team. Management trains employees to respond properly to risks, for example, wearing safety equipment or using machinery correctly. Management monitors the results of risk management tactics and accounts for poor risk taking behaviors. Management establishes quantitative analysis tools to measure risk culture compliance. Any problem areas are reported to leadership, discussed and a mutually agreed upon intervention occurs. (Marks and Rassmussen)(Hopkin, 2010) Strong financial risk cultures identify key risks inherent in the business; these may include currency exchange, interest rates, diversification issues, fluctuating suppliers’ prices and raw commodity pricing. The key financial risks order by primacy from largest concern to least impactful. The financial risk manager reviews the company risk tolerance and manages the priorities accordingly, implementing strategies and tactics to reduce risk where desired. These tactics usually involve the derivative markets, like interest rate swaps and commodity trading. Risk management is a repetitive process, so the financial risk manager monitors the markets of concern and refines his strategy as needed. (Horcher, 2005) (Das, 2006) Operational risk management concerns both management and measurement of risk. Traditionally, operations risk management involved all the company processes and systems, all employees for management and training, and any external event, such as political interference. A strong culture identifies, measu res and implements a strategy consistent with overall company goals. Of course, on-going stewardship is required as with the financial risk management. (Abkowitz, 2008) Weak Risk Culture Weak risk cultures begin with resistant leadership, sometimes arrogant leadership. Management is either not told goals or communications are not transparent. Leadership and management must believe in and be committed to the same vision of risk culture. New risks are not identified on a timely basis, on-going stewardship is an essential part of a strong risk culture. Underutilizing personal or improper training creates a weak risk culture operationally. Only considering risk avoidance and mitigation rather than proactively seeking profitable means to deal with risk is a characteristic of a weak risk culture financially. For instance, trading in derivatives can be profitable by trading risky interest rate situations for more time sensitive hedges. Weak risk cultures do not do what strong ones do. (And erson and Schroder, 2010) Risk-Return/Risk-Reward The financial risk manager observes the risk-reward behavior of financial instruments in order to determine the least risk available for the highest return. If all instruments shared the same risk, the investor would choose the highest reward. If all risks had the same reward, investors would choose the lowest risk. This balance is achieved through diversification of investments and managing the volatility of an investment