Human Dignity and “Autonomous” Robotics: What is the Problem?

Those who currently want to argue for the exclusion of certain modes of action or available tools frequently argue that these modes of action or even the corresponding tools violate human dignity. In this way, a categorical imperative can be created whose validity is not dependent on conditions that would change, for example, if the technology itself changed. Accordingly, the human dignity argument has also become very important in the debate on the permissibility of so-called “autonomous weapons systems”. However, the difficulties begin with the fact that human dignity is not an empirical characteristic of human beings, butrelates to human beings as “noumenal beings” (Immanuel Kant). Our empirical actions only ever reach the phenomenal, i.e. factual, human being. The person of “intellectual perception” (homo noumenon) is thus apparently not affected at all. However, it may be possible to build a bridge via the duty of recognition.