A Posthuman-Xenofeminist Analysis of the Discourse on Autonomous Weapons Systems and Other Killing Machines. Issue 1 (2nd January 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jones, Emily
• Is Part Of: The Australian feminist law journal. Volume 44:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 93
• Page End: 118
• Publication Date: 2018-01-02
• DOI: 10.1080/13200968.2018.1465333
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1320-0968

Abstract

Abstract: In this article, I critique the current debates surrounding autonomous weapons systems, using feminist posthuman theory to make sense of such systems – and the relation between human and machine – in terms of automation and autonomy. The dominant narratives about autonomous weapons tend to present them as exceptional; they are distinct from all the other kinds of human inventions that can kill. Further attention is required, not on autonomous weapons themselves but on the delegation of killing to a far broader range of technologies across the human–machine/autonomous–automated spectrum. While current attempts at legal regulation distinguish between civil and military technologies, such a distinction becomes impossible in light of the links between civil and military technologies and the killing potential of many technologies, including artificial intelligence.