Technology < blood and bones

What are the disadvantages of and problems of using robots instead of humans on the battlefield?

Although not having fear and anger can be a good thing, a lack of mercy or empathy means that robots will stop at nothing to destroy their enemy, unless they are told to stop. Humans know the unspoken laws of warfare, to not kill an enemy that surrenders, that there are unacceptable things to do to the enemy, among other things, but can a robot be programmed to determine these things? Can it really tell between a civilian and an enemy as well as a soldier? In the fog of war, human judgment seems to actually have some advantages over the robot that could become confused and make the wrong judgment calls.

I agree that emotions can have a beneficial effect on the soldier, but I do not think it's the lack of empathy that makes robots so incompetent. It's the fact that they cannot judge for themselves what is right and wrong. It is my personal belief that you simply cannot program a machine to be ethical. Period. My reasoning is that it's also impossible to make a human completely ethical. How are we supposed to impose ethical qualities onto a robot when we ourselves acknowledge that morals are murky. Do you program every exact situation that may or may not occur into their memory? This seems impractical. People aren't perfect, but we do have a fairly good idea of right and wrong even if it is a bit murky. Robots don't have the capability to judge a situation for themselves, with regard to ethics, and shouldn't be allowed to call any of those shots.