Autonomy arrangements have gradually become more numerous, & different developments in respect of autonomy can be discerned in the fields of international & domestic law. The patterns of autonomy are quite disparate, but because various fields of law treat autonomy in different ways, it is fruitful to inquire into the applications of autonomy & to ask what autonomy as such implies. Autonomy is a multi-faceted phenomenon which on the one hand contains the issue of devolution or decentralization of law-making or other normative powers in the institutional fabric of the country without any minority protection component; on the other hand it may in addition contain an explicit minority protection component designed to offer special protection to minority groups in society. Especially in the latter sense, the issue of effective participation of a minority in the government is an important issue, & in this respect, there is a connection between autonomy & a general understanding of democracy.

Dr. Greg Zacharias, former Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force (2015-18), explores next steps in autonomous systems (AS) development, fielding, and training. Rapid advances in AS development and artificial intelligence (AI) research will change how we think about machines, whether they are individual vehicle platforms or networked enterprises. The payoff will be considerable, affording the US military significant protection for aviators, greater effectiveness in employment, and unlimited opportunities for novel and disruptive concepts of operations. Autonomous Horizons: The Way Forward identifies issues and makes recommendations for the Air Force to take full advantage of this transformational technology.

The development and application of increasingly autonomous (IA) systems for civil aviation is proceeding at an accelerating pace, driven by the expectation that such systems will return significant benefits in terms of safety, reliability, efficiency, affordability, and/or previously unattainable mission capabilities. IA systems range from current automatic systems such as autopilots and remotely piloted unmanned aircraft to more highly sophisticated systems that are needed to enable a fully autonomous aircraft that does not require a pilot or human air traffic controllers. These systems, characterized by their ability to perform more complex mission-related tasks with substantially less human intervention for more extended periods of time, sometimes at remote distances, are being envisioned for aircraft and for air traffic management and other ground-based elements of the national airspace system. Civil aviation is on the threshold of potentially revolutionary improvements in aviation capabilities and operations associated with IA systems. These systems, however, face substantial barriers to integration into the national airspace system without degrading its safety or efficiency. Autonomy Research for Civil Aviation identifies key barriers and suggests major elements of a national research agenda to address those barriers and help realize the benefits that IA systems can make to crewed aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, and ground-based elements of the national airspace system. This report develops a set of integrated and comprehensive technical goals and objectives of importance to the civil aeronautics community and the nation. Autonomy Research for Civil Aviation will be of interest to U.S. research organizations, industry, and academia who have a role in meeting these goals.

This book explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI), by leading to an increase in the autonomy of machines and robots, is offering opportunities for an expanded but uncertain impact on society by humans, machines, and robots. To help readers better understand the relationships between AI, autonomy, humans and machines that will help society reduce human errors in the use of advanced technologies (e.g., airplanes, trains, cars), this edited volume presents a wide selection of the underlying theories, computational models, experimental methods, and field applications. While other literature deals with these topics individually, this book unifies the fields of autonomy and AI, framing them in the broader context of effective integration for human-autonomous machine and robotic systems. The contributions, written by world-class researchers and scientists, elaborate on key research topics at the heart of effective human-machine-robot-systems integration. These topics include, for example, computational support for intelligence analyses; the challenge of verifying today’s and future autonomous systems; comparisons between today’s machines and autism; implications of human information interaction on artificial intelligence and errors; systems that reason; the autonomy of machines, robots, buildings; and hybrid teams, where hybrid reflects arbitrary combinations of humans, machines and robots. The contributors span the field of autonomous systems research, ranging from industry and academia to government. Given the broad diversity of the research in this book, the editors strove to thoroughly examine the challenges and trends of systems that implement and exhibit AI; the social implications of present and future systems made autonomous with AI; systems with AI seeking to develop trusted relationships among humans, machines, and robots; and the effective human systems integration that must result for trust in these new systems and their applications to increase and to be sustained.

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have been used in military operations for more than 60 years, with torpedoes, cruise missiles, satellites, and target drones being early examples.1 They have also been widely used in the civilian sector-for example, in the disposal of explosives, for work and measurement in radioactive environments, by various offshore industries for both creating and maintaining undersea facilities, for atmospheric and undersea research, and by industry in automated and robotic manufacturing. Recent military experiences with AVs have consistently demonstrated their value in a wide range of missions, and anticipated developments of AVs hold promise for increasingly significant roles in future naval operations. Advances in AV capabilities are enabled (and limited) by progress in the technologies of computing and robotics, navigation, communications and networking, power sources and propulsion, and materials. Autonomous Vehicles in Support of Naval Operations is a forward-looking discussion of the naval operational environment and vision for the Navy and Marine Corps and of naval mission needs and potential applications and limitations of AVs. This report considers the potential of AVs for naval operations, operational needs and technology issues, and opportunities for improved operations.

This book, first published in 2000, explores how different states negotiate the competing claims of ethnic groups.