IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - July 2021 - 99

Koch
Figure 3.
" The most highly mechanized combat requires [.. .] making soldiers
aware of their responsibility and making them experience
the consequences of their actions and omissions " [Wolf von Baudissin
(1954)]. ß Bundeswehr.
developments in which the boundaries between 'person'
and 'thing' are blurred " [21].
Systems empowered by AI and IF are already in use in
all operational domains of land, sea, space, cyber, i.e., in
the increasingly complex technosphere of military operations
[23]. Cognitive and volitive assistance in the defense
domain is, thus, inevitable to " information, command &
control, and engagement superiority " as well as to
" improving their ability to assert and respond " [24]. Since
potential adversaries also use or will use such digital technologies,
dissolution ofspatial boundaries and acceleration
will characterize digitized combat with increasingly automated
cause-and-effect chains, i.e., " hyperwar. " A European
example is the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a
system-of-systems consisting of manned and unmanned
flying platforms to protect the European airspace [25].
Because we explicitly accept that modern armed forces
must be capable " to fight at machine speed, " digitization in
the defense domain cannot be limited to intelligence, surveillance,
and reconnaissance (ISR), but must equally
enable, encourage, and facilitate responsible weapon
engagement. " The more lethal and far-reaching the effect
ofweapons are, the more necessary it is that people behind
the weapons know what they are doing, " observes von Baudissin
as a highly respected Lieutenant General in 1967, in
the middle of the Cold War (see Figure 4). " Without the
commitment to the moral realms, the soldier threatens to
become a mere functionary of violence and a manager "
[22, p. 205, 1954]. This is all the more valid in today's sensor-to-shooter
loops and Joint All Domain Command &
Control [26]. The hope for deceleration and limitation by
arms control policy to counter military destabilization in
analogy to flash crashes on financial markets is honorable
[27], but seems unrealistic in view of the almost unrestricted
proliferation of digital technologies and their
dual use.
JULY 2021
Figure 4.
" Without the commitment to the moral realms, the soldier threatens
to become a mere functionary of violence and manager, [...]
degraded to weapons without human cohesion and conscience;
with them every act of violence becomes possible. " [Wolf von
Baudissin (1967)]. ß NATO.
For the sake ofclarity, the Bundeswehr explicitly avoids the
term " autonomy, " which obscures gradual differences. The
term " automation " seems to be more appropriate as it also
includes " full automation " after stages ofpartial automation.
Nevertheless, there is an ongoing debate on " autonomy versus
automation " at the level of international diplomacy in
order to characterize so-called Lethal Autonomous Weapon
Systems according to the regulations of the International
Humanitarian Law [28]. Absurd is the interpretation of
" autonomy " as of a technical " decision of will. " In view of
these considerations, also " artificial intelligence " is a problematic
term, too well established, however, to be avoided.
To ensure that the Bundeswehr fulfills their current
obligations, digitization is expanding its capability profile
at two levels.
1. It provides tools for perceiving a military situation as
reliably as possible by " obtaining, processing, and
distributing information on and between all command
levels, units and services with minimum delay,
without interruption or media disruption " [29].
2. It supports the " targeted deployment of forces and
means according to space, time and information.
[...] Characteristic features of military leadership
are the personal responsibility of decision-makers
and the implementation of their will in every situation "
[29, p. 83f].
In this context, defense scientists have to clarify the ethical
problems of AI and automation while avoiding
" moralizing. " The following distinction proves to be helpful.
1. Digital ethics denotes thinking about the right decisions
in using digital defense technologies. Required
is an Image of Man that makes " mind, " " will, " and,
IEEE A&E SYSTEMS MAGAZINE
99
IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - July 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE - Aerospace and Electronic Systems - July 2021
