[FBT]

That's better than both sides being humans.

Seriously. Incremental improvements are worthwhile.

In general, militaries never want to comprise their effectiveness. So if given the chance to implement a life-saving intervention that harms their effectiveness, they will be reluctant at best to implement it. But this is a life-saving intervention that possibly even increases their effectiveness!

That's what truly makes it awesome. A way to save lives that militaries are not only willing to implement, but rather are actually enthusiastic about implementing.

[origami777]

That's a best case scenario. What it could do is make military intervention an even easier decision. The loss of human life is a deterrent to engaging in war. If one side isn't concerned about that, wouldn't they be more inclined to go to war?

[slv77]

Conversely removing the threat to human life may reduce the probability of escalation and make a response more measured.

For example two men break through a security fence. A robotic patrol would seem to be much less likely to respond with deadly force than a human patrol would in that situation.

If the men were refugees or wounded soilders looking for medical care the more measured response of the robotic patrol may prevent a death and actually de-escalate conflict.

Also assume that the two men were hostile and fired on the patrol. The destruction of the mech is much less likely to provoke a political and civilian response than the death of a human and may lead to a more measured response.

My bigger concern is that a fully mechanized force may decrease the apparent cost of oppressing a civilian population.

[sharemywin]

That would never happen...

Drone operators refer to children as “fun-size terrorists” and liken killing them to “cutting the grass before it grows too long,” said one of the operators, Michael Haas, a former senior airman in the Air Force

https://theintercept.com/2015/11/19/former-drone-operators-s...

[MrLeftHand]

Yeah, just let a Hitler like guy (or Trump), have control over a massive robot army.

We always assume, that the technology always stays with the good guys.

This stuff is literally a dictators wet dream.