I am far too modest to think that the UK MoD’s Chief Scientific Adviser (Simon Cholerton) reads my blog, but…
A few weeks ago I mused about the ethics of Cyber Warfare. Then a week later the Daily Telegraph carried a report of an interview with Simon Cholerton in which he states that terminator-style robot soldiers and weapon systems that kill without human command are “absolutely unethical” and will not be developed by the UK. You may question whether this scenario fits into Cyber Warfare. I argue that it does because in the broadest sense I envisage such weapons receiving their launching orders via cyberspace.
In the report Simon Cholerton recognises that “There is a certain amount of asymmetry around this, and there always is when you face an enemy who doesn’t share you values”. He would say that, wouldn’t he? After all we British do like to hold the moral high ground in such matters, but already in my previous blog I was worrying about how the civilised global community can control and police those rogue nations and non-nation groups that have no ethical principles. A conundrum I have no answer for, other than we must fight in cyber space to defend our values.
The Telegraph’s Editorial seizes on the fact that “there is no doubt that a 21st-century arms race is under way – one in which data, not bullets and nuclear megatons, are the guarantors of supremacy.” That is of course now obvious, although I had not given this much thought until I read it. This is history as it is happening. It is being written about as we speak, thus there is much speculation into this unknown and complex arena, because it is an arena in the violent fighting sense of Roman gladiatorial combat. For those reasons I agree with the editorial’s assessment because it makes sense.
The article is pictured below:
Swansea Student Blog on Cyber Warfare 