Recent Writing and Activities
August 23, 2009
Neuroactive chemical weapons
Anders Sandberg writes in Practical Ethics about Non-lethal, yet dangerous: neuroactive agents.
Sandberg warns about the militarization of agents that alter mental states. While traditional chemical weapons are intended to hurt or kill people, these agents are intended to disable. For example, they might induce confusion, sleepiness or calm. The Chemical Weapons Convention contain a loophole for using biochemical agents for law enforcement including domestic riot control, and there is a push from some quarters to amend it to allow novel incapacitating agents. Is disabling agents just an extension of other forms of non-lethal force, or is this a slippery path we should avoid?
Posted by Waldemar at 10:00 AM