#36: Is Remote Warfare Moral? Weighing Issues of Life and Death from 7,000 Miles with Joseph O. Chapa

Sounds About Right: Audiobooks to Help Us Understand the World

Joseph Chapa is a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force and holds a PhD (DPhil) in philosophy from the University of Oxford. His areas of expertise include just war theory, military ethics, and especially the ethics of remote and autonomous weapons. His doctoral research investigates an individual rights-based account of just war theory.
He is a senior pilot with more than 1,400 pilot and instructor pilot hours, many of which were flown in support of major U.S. combat and humanitarian operations. He currently serves as the Department of The Air Force’s first-ever Chief Responsible AI Ethics Officer.
I had the pleasure of speaking with him about his book, Is Remote Warfare Moral? Weighing Issues of Life and Death from 7,000 Miles
Some of the topics we discussed includes:

• The events in the late 90s and early 2000s that led to the introduction of Remote Warfare.
• What are the usual narratives regarding Remote Warfare?
• Does there have to be an immediate threat to life for the engagement of combat to be considered war?
• The morality and psychology of Remote Warfare and the 'Play Station mentality'
• What is moral injury?
• What is the moral justification for killing in war and is the 'self defence' argument strong when we relate this to Remote Warfare?
• What will be the future of Remote Warfare?

The Book and Audiobook: Is Remote Warfare Moral? Weighing Issues of Life and Death from 7,000 Miles is out now.
You can also find out more about Joseph on his website https://www.josephchapa.com

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