Military & Aerospace

Augmented Soldier: Ethical, Social & Legal Perspective
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Issue Courtesy: CLAWS | Date : 01 Feb , 2018

Historical Perspective

Human Augmentation refers to the modern technologies that actively seek to combine biology, nanotechnology and neurologic elements with other information to provide for the ability to ‘enhance’ human beings into having predetermined characteristics. Naturally, a concept which could enhance the human body in terms of strength, fortitude and performance, making them capable of defeating their enemies and/or surviving the perils of conflict—is of great interest to militaries throughout the world.

The concept of human augmentation, though currently intertwined with modern information, science and technology, was not always so. In ancient times, man designed simple armor and weaponry from  leather, iron and wood to compensate for the lack of his raw muscle power and other limitations set by the his body such as weakness to diseases, the elements and physical and mental exhaustion such as from fear and hunger. During the Crusades, Hashashins (modern day assassins) would induce fearlessness and strength through psychotropic substances, thus altering their minds for battles. No doubt we have come a long way from such primitive external enhancements, however the central theme remains the same; to enhance or augment the human mind and body to make it the ultimate survival machine.

The earliest depictions of a body with mechanical muscles appeared in science fiction back in 1868, when Edward Sylvester Ellis published a dime novel, “The Steam Man of the Prairies.” It featured a giant humanoid-shaped steam engine that towed its inventor behind it in a cart at speeds of 60 mph (96.5 kmph)[i]. By 1961, just prior to the Iron Man suit created by Marvel Comics, the Pentagon had actually invited proposals for real-life wearable robots which would effectively result in “a human tank equipped with power steering and power brakes” that would be able to run faster and lift heavy objects, and which would be immune to germ warfare, poison gas and even heat and radiation from nuclear blasts[ii]. In the late 1960s, Cornell engineer Neil Mizzen had developed a 35 lbs (15.8-kg) wearable exoskeleton, christened the “Superman Suit” or the “Man Amplifier,” which would allow a user to lift 1,000 lbs (453.6 kg) with each hand.

Further, it is not just the body which is enhanced but also the mind. The Telepathy and Mind Control projects during the Cold War are an infamous illustration of mental augmentation where levels of consciousness attained by humans in a normal life span are crossed. A recent report on the Wright-Patterson Airbase in Ohio has revealed that the U.S. Military has been applying weak electric shocks through engineered kits into the brains, specifically the cortex, of air crew and pilots to enhance mental capacity and multitasking[iii].

The United States is not the only country to attempt to enhance regular soldiers into super soldiers.  As early as the turn of the twentieth century, the Soviet Union sought to use DNA manipulation to cross breed humans with apes to create an army that would not easily die or complain by becoming resistant to pain and unconcerned about the quality of food they ate.  According to Russia’s media outlets, mind-controlling exoskeletons may be available to the Russian Army by as early as 2020 where the soldiers wearing the enhanced suit will be controlled by brain waves and will possess the ability of super human strength and endurance.

21st Century Human Augmentations for Applied Military Operations

In 2017, the United States Department of Defense launched the $80 million Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS); a futuristic military hardware that cocoons soldiers within a shatter proof, internally cooled, computerized exoskeleton which shields from practically every threat.[iv] The system even attempts to address the soldier’s need for sleep and researchers have been experimenting with nootropic drugs (cognitive enhancers) like Modafinil to keep the warriors awake in battle 24/7. Military Research is also steering towards technologies that augment. Instead of building exoskeletons, wearables based on soft robotics that tune into the human body are being created to directly interact with the Central Nervous System (CNS) of the soldier. The Harvard-Wyss Institute along with Defence Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has created a prototype based on how muscles and the CNS work. Using a system of battery-powered sensors, motors, gears, cables and pulleys located between the fabric, the suit senses motion and responds accordingly. It is designed to help soldiers walking long distances with heavy loads to avoid fatigue. As of now, tests have shown a seven percent increase in energy savings.[v]

DARPA also created the Insoles technology which allows for feet to become more sensitive to the ground. With this awareness, a soldier can better interpret his position and bearings. Though Insoles was initially rolled out for older or ailing patients, but when tested on younger soldiers revealed improved agility and speed on unpredictable ground.

Tech Company M/S Invisio has created earplugs called Tactical Communication and Protective System (TCAPS) that enhances hearing by turning down the sound of an explosion before it hits the soldier’s eardrum. On the other hand, whispers are emphasized, allowing soldiers to maintain communications while maintaining surprise. Invisio has till now rolled out 20,000 devices for the U.S. Army.[vi]

DARPA has further unveiled plans for its Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) with a funding of $65 million which is a direct part of the White House’s Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Technologies initiative. The project aims to produce an implantable neural user interface that links a soldier’s neurons to a computer to augment communications, information retrieval and data management.[vii]

Ethical Issues

The merging of Man and Machine would create a super race of mutants who are clearly genetically superior to the rest of humanity. This would cause a class division of large proportions with no hope for the weaker side. Creating a Deus ex Machina (making man a God using technology) or disrupting with the very fabric of life and creation could lead to a society which we cannot even conceive at this point. Unlike a science fiction movie, reality cannot be switched off and any/all consequences resulting from this technology could stay with us permanently. Given our modern technology and knowledge, it must be asked whether we need to create human augmentation because being able to create does not mean that one absolutely should. Though it can be applied to the benefit of all humanity, the consequences of human augmentation in the context of military cannot be overlooked.

Military hardware is no longer a mechanical concept. It has been conjoined with biological, neural and psychological factors. Augmented soldiers are the vehicles, weapons and armor all by themselves. Such consolidation of power into a living person is very different from an inanimate object lacking reason, passion and judgment.

The concept of better living and health are also jeopardized as it is quite likely that consumers would be willing to pay to remain at peak fitness with the aid of augmentations and technology without ever having to exert themselves. Privatization and mass production of such technologies would lead to devastating results as all factions of the society would have access to technologies, rendering the world effectively as a perpetual war zone.

Societal Issues

Fairness and equality are not just theoretical values, but they have practical effects. Gross inequality in itself, whether fair or otherwise, can incite the masses to rebel against the state. However, an extreme act of rebellion is not required to figure out the societal disruption that may be caused by augmentation. Institutions and events based on a specific spectrum of human abilities such as sports, literature or academics would change dramatically, if enhanced persons are permitted to compete to the clear disadvantage to unenhanced persons. Other institutions and systems include economic jobs, privacy, communications, pensions, security, and many other areas of society. As an illustration, life extension technologies will put pressure upon employees to pay increased contributions to pension plans, which further puts pressure on household budgets and employers. The State and Corporations would have to change entire policies regarding retirement age and pensions.

Other nearer-term scenarios that may cause social disruption include: a job aspiring candidate with a neural implant that enables better data retention and faster information processing would consistently beat all the unenhanced candidates; a person with super-human hearing or sight could circumvent existing privacy protections and expectations by easily and undetectably eavesdropping or spying on others; more students (and professors) using a drug such as Ritalin may grab admission or tenure at all the best universities, reducing those opportunities for others; and so on.

Also, assuming birth rates do not decline and mortality span increases, more pressure on resources such as energy and food will prevent any and all forms of sustainable development. This is not only a concern for third world countries but an all encompassing global threat to life itself.

Looking further into the future, it is undeniable that mankind is now making ready for space settlement. Thus it would not be a surprise if living underwater or underground as an answer to the current environmental crisis comes to be. Clearly, augmentation can enable to man to survive without air or in water with genetic modifications to create gills, flippers, claws, echolocations, new skin as per the terrain or to use nanobots to prevent the need of oxygen completely and render the body immune to all foreign substances such as germs, pathogens, radiation and such. This bears an effect on all existing laws and societal structures such as geography, politics, currency, real estate, law enforcement, cross-world jurisdictions and warfare.

Societal disruption is a serious concern and warrants mitigation, though this does not imply that we should resist change in general. Human enhancement technologies do not necessarily need to be halted or regulated, but it seems more prudent and responsible to anticipate and prepare for any disruptive effects. To be clear, there presumably will be benefits to society from enhanced persons/soldiers. We can expect greater productivity or more creative and intellectual breakthroughs, which is why individuals would want to be enhanced in the first place. But what remains difficult to calculate is whether these gains outweigh the costs or risks, or even the likelihood of either gains or costs—which is needed if we do find it sensible to use a precautionary principle to guide each country’s policymaking and legal framework for its futuristic citizenry.

Legal Issues

World War II was responsible for nearly 28 million civilian deaths and the Thirty Years’ War contributed to a 50% decline in the civilian population throughout Europe.  Because of these specific wars, the Geneva Conventions was drafted to enhance the protection of the civilian population during outbreaks of war and armed conflicts. In international humanitarian law (IHL), also known as the laws of war, the primary instruments relevant to human enhancements include: Hague Conventions (1899 and 1907), Geneva Conventions (1949 and Additional Protocols I, II, and III), Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (1972), Chemical Weapons Convention (1993)

Would Human Augmentations count as weapons under the Geneva Conventions?

Article 36 of the Geneva Conventions requires a High Contracting Party to determine whether the development, acquisition or adoption of a new weapon or method of warfare is to be prohibited by this Protocol or by any other rule of international law applicable.

The human fighter, engaged in hand-to-hand combat, would be the last remaining weapon when all others have been exhausted. So in this basic sense, the soldier is undeniably a weapon or instrument of war. Augmented soldiers therefore, are the new weapons of the military. They have cognitive and physical capabilities that no other technology currently has, and this can make these soldiers versatile to the extent that they can be ethical and lethal at the same time.

Would Human Augmentations count as a biological weapon under the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)?

Article 1 of the BTWC prohibits development, production, stockpiling or acquiring microbial or other biological agents, or toxins that have no justification and weapons or equipment designed to use such agents or toxins for armed conflict.

Even if it were to be assumed biological agent means non living things, we can still consider the enhancement technology itself as an agent, apart from the soldier it enhances. Since the BTWC does not specify that biological agents must be of the kind that directly harms adversaries, anabolic steroids for increased strength would count as biological agents that serve “hostile purposes” in so much as they create a soldier more capable of fulfilling assigned missions.

Would Human Augmentations violate International Humanitarian Laws (IHL) because they are objectionable to consciousness of mankind?

The possibility of creating a “berserker” soldier so enhanced that he no longer resembles a human being is not unlikely. In the annals of history, from Viking helmets, Samurai armors, tigers and sharks painted onto warplanes and ominous names for drones, a pattern of intimidation through beasts can be noticed. This suggests that it may neither be irrational nor inconsistent with customary practices to design enhancements to be inhuman and inhumane.

Further, biomedical research is presently ongoing with “chimeras”,[viii] or animals composed of genes or cells from other organisms not involved with the reproduction of those animals. These may include animals created with human genes; this possibility has caused much ethical concern and debate, so much so that the Human Chimera Prohibition Act of 2005 was legislated.

Ordinary enhancements such as a bionic limb or exoskeleton could also be viewed as unethical by cultures that reject technology or such manipulation of the human body. Ethics and consciousness are subjective and thus legality of augmentations depends on context.

The Marten’s Clause lays down prohibition against inhumane weapons and methods is a fundamental principle, sometimes explicit and sometimes implied, that underwrites the laws of war and therefore relevant to an ethics assessment of military enhancements.

Conclusion

From all the enhanced military technology pumping super human abilities into traditional soldiers it can be argued that such augmented soldiers will really do more harm than good. Apart from the clear and exciting benefits of possessing a super powered army, enhancement and safety of soldiers and mitigation of casualties, there is an elephant in the room. The misuse of said technology; privatization of augmentation seems to be the most imminent threat to the world as it is becoming increasingly easy for both the state and the non-state actors to clone devices and replicate technology, while employing these to create terror, discord and threaten national security of any nation / nation-state.

Furthermore, the merging of Man and Machine might branch in two separate directions. From the biomedical and scientific viewpoint, human augmentation may lead to having perfect genes resulting in the end of diseases, starvation and mortality, thereby achieving the perfect human race. However, from the military and war perspective, it might be the end of the world as we know it, come World War III!

References 

[i] https://science.howstuffworks.com/exoskeleton1.htm accessed on 12 January 2018.

[ii] https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=&hl=en, accessed on 12 January 2018.

[iii]http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3914600/US-Air-Force-experiments-create-supersoldiers-enhanced-mental-skills-boosting-brains-electric-shocks.html, accessed on 13 January 2018.

[iv]http://thehypedgeek.com/military-exo-skeleton-suit-talos-will-ready-us-special-forces-soon/, accessed on 13 January 2018.

[v] http://www.wired.co.uk/article/smart-soldiers-technology, accessed on 14 January 2018.

[vi]https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/06/03/480173016/armys-smart-earplug-damps-explosive-noise-but-can-enhance-whispers, accessed on 14 January 2018.

[vii]https://www.darpa.mil/program/neural-engineering-system-design, accessed on 15 January 2018.

[viii] http://muse.jhu.edu/article/46985, accessed on 16 January 2018.

Courtesy: http://www.claws.in/1860/augmented-soldier-ethical-social-legal-perspective-arjun-tyagi.html

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