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Drones make it easier for governments to opt for military intervention rather than negotiation, because drone pilots' lives are not at risk. RAF Reaper drones are guided from comfortable seats in Waddington, near Lincoln.
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Physical distance makes victims seem less real: more like targets to "splat" in a computer game than human flesh and blood.
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Drones have encouraged "targeted assassination". It is cheaper and more convenient to "eliminate" wrongdoers than to bring them to trial or to keep them in Guantanamo. Swarms of armed autonomous drones, with recognition capabilities dependent on artificial intelligence, have been developed and tested. These can be programmed to recognise individual targets - and to target individuals. Their use can breach international law. They should be declared illegal.
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The arms trade will encourage the spread of drones to other nations, and eventually to terrorists.
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Drone strikes cause resentment, leading to radicalisation and the creation of more enmity.
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Details of drone targetting can be withheld from the press, reducing the constraint of public concern.
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Read the latest survey on British drones.
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