Autonomous Military Robots (LAR) as WeaponsThesis Statement: There are various social and political implications surrounding the use of lethally autonomous robots (LAR) as military weapons. The military use of Lethally Autonomous Robots (LARs) is not science fiction – it's happening right now. A robot is a mechanism guided by automatic commands. Autonomous robots are able to maintain stability and plan their actions independently. The first generation of military robots operated under direct human control. The best known military robots are “drones” or unmanned aerial vehicles. The drone system currently in use consists of the IAI Pioneer and RQ-1 Predator unmanned aerial vehicles, which can be armed with air-to-ground missiles and remotely controlled from a command center. Drones have already been used by the US military for unmanned aerial attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other war zones. (Merchant, 276). Several military robotic automation systems already operate at a level where humans are still in control and responsible for deploying lethal force, but not in a directly supervised manner. The Phalanx system for the Navy's Aegis-class cruisers is designed to provide the last line of defense against anti-ship missiles. The gun mount moves with rapid precision. The system requires few inputs from the vessel, making it capable of operating despite potential damage to the vessel. There are several settings for the Phalanx system, with the final security setting being "victim" which will defend the ship against aerial attacks without human selection of targets. The MK 69 Encapsulated Torpedo Marine Mine System (CAPTOR) was the US Navy's standard anti-submarine mine during the Cold War, having enough computing power to...... middle of paper.. .... already happening. It is too late to stop their development, we can only try to use them responsibly and ethically. Works Cited Harris, Tom. “How robots work.” HowStuffWorks.com. Np, April 16, 2002. Web. February 26, 2014. .Kirkpatrick, Keith. “Robot Legal Issues.” Communication from the ACM. November 2013: 17-19. Print.Noorman, Merel and Deborah G. Johnson. “Negotiating the Autonomy and Responsibility of Military Robots.” Ethics and information technology. (February): 2014. Print. Sandler, Ronald L. Ethics and Emerging Technologies. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 2013. Print. Singer, P. W. “Military Robots and the Laws of War.” 2009: 31. Print. “International governance of autonomous military robots. » Columbia Journal of Science and Technology Law. .