DJI has developed a small robotic “weapon platform” for training students how to program autonomous weapons systems. In short, DJI appears to believe it is fun to learn how to program “killer robots.”. In partnership with Mines Action Canada, uOttawa researchers at CRAiEDL want to subvert this ideology, push back against weapons manufacturing that makes engineering and computer science students complicit in autonomous warfare, and illustrate the ethical concerns around Autonomous Weapons Systems.  

 

Autonomous Weapons Systems are autonomous targeting and firing systems that operate independently of human agents and without manual control. We highlight five Ethical Concerns with the use of these systems:  

We want to reimagine how these DJI robots can be used, subvert the training path these robots were designed for, and illustrate how ethically problematic killer robots are.  

Your task is to design and program a demonstration/immersive experience featuring the RoboMaster S1 that explicitly makes a statement about how problematic it is to train students to program autonomous weapons systems. This experience should push the boundaries around what these robots can be used for: could they be a tool for artistic creation, poetic justice, or gardening? Are there wicked community problems that the RoboMaster S1 can help solve? How might the robot deliver subversive, anti-war messages to the public? 

 

Ensure that the demonstration illustrates at least three of the ethical concerns associated with Autonomous Weapons Systems, that the project does not glorify warfare, and that the political messaging does not target a particular person, group or state.