"The problem, he said, was that robots could not fulfil two of the basic tenets of warfare: discriminating friend from foe, and "proportionality", determining a

"The problem, he said, was that robots could not fulfil two of the basic tenets of warfare: discriminating friend from foe, and "proportionality", determining a reasonable amount of force to gain a given military advantage." That is true for autonomous robots, but we are currently not there yet. And if the choice is between the UAV overhead with cameras and sensors on the target firing guided missiles, or the UAV overhead with a camera and someone firing artillery at the target from a few miles away, the UAV is more accurate and less likely to cause collateral damage. He also talks about how they are further distancing the soldiers from battle. Not really, if you are a normal pilot you drop the weapons on the target and get the hell out of there, and don't see really any of it except on film later because you are moving so fast. The UAV operators keep the UAV overhead and are watching before, during, and after the attack much more closely than pilots. It turns out it can be more emotionally damaging than manned flight. Especially because of the lack of danger for you, it triggers different emotions.