Maciek Zając
@maciekzajac.bsky.social
Ethics of war, wrote a doctorate on autonomous weapons, currently a postdoc at Polish Academy of Sciences. All things ethics, philosophy and history. English language account focused on scholarly stuff. Still on Twitter for UA and PL policy matters
Pinned
Maciek Zając
@maciekzajac.bsky.social
· Sep 22
Autonomous weapon systems impact on incidence of armed conflict: rejecting the ‘lower threshold for war argument’ - Ethics and Information Technology
Some proponents of a ban on Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) believe adopting these would lower the threshold for war, and is thus morally undesirable. This paper argues against that thesis. First, rem...
link.springer.com
Pleased to see my article on AWS and the threshold of armed conflict come out; I problematize often simplistic assumptions that characterize the initial takes on the issue and call for more in-depth and empirically grounded study of the issue. 🧵 with several of my main points:
Reposted by Maciek Zając
Wow, and the hits keep coming today.
'that Ukraine must accept' - or what? Putin will bomb their apartments? He's already doing that. Trump will freeze aid?
Who is negotiating for the USA that they think that these proposals are anything but non-starters?
'that Ukraine must accept' - or what? Putin will bomb their apartments? He's already doing that. Trump will freeze aid?
Who is negotiating for the USA that they think that these proposals are anything but non-starters?
Reuters:
U.S. PROPOSALS TO END WAR INCLUDE UKRAINE GIVING UP TERRITORY AND SOME WEAPONS, REDUCING SIZE OF ARMED FORCES, AMONG MANY OTHER POINTS – TWO PEOPLE FAMILIAR WITH THE MATTER // U.S. HAS SIGNALLED TO ZELENSKIY THAT UKRAINE MUST ACCEPT FRAMEWORK AND ITS MAIN POINTS, THE SOURCES SAY
U.S. PROPOSALS TO END WAR INCLUDE UKRAINE GIVING UP TERRITORY AND SOME WEAPONS, REDUCING SIZE OF ARMED FORCES, AMONG MANY OTHER POINTS – TWO PEOPLE FAMILIAR WITH THE MATTER // U.S. HAS SIGNALLED TO ZELENSKIY THAT UKRAINE MUST ACCEPT FRAMEWORK AND ITS MAIN POINTS, THE SOURCES SAY
November 19, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Wow, and the hits keep coming today.
'that Ukraine must accept' - or what? Putin will bomb their apartments? He's already doing that. Trump will freeze aid?
Who is negotiating for the USA that they think that these proposals are anything but non-starters?
'that Ukraine must accept' - or what? Putin will bomb their apartments? He's already doing that. Trump will freeze aid?
Who is negotiating for the USA that they think that these proposals are anything but non-starters?
Reposted by Maciek Zając
Hello everyone, friends, followers, and supporters of Ukraine
I'm starting a new fundraiser for $120,000 to help Ukraine with engineering equipment, heavy trucks with cranes, and excavators
Please watch the video and read to understand why this matters
donation link www.paypal.com/donate?campa...
I'm starting a new fundraiser for $120,000 to help Ukraine with engineering equipment, heavy trucks with cranes, and excavators
Please watch the video and read to understand why this matters
donation link www.paypal.com/donate?campa...
Engineering Equipment for Ukraine
Help Liberty Ukraine Foundation reach their goal by donating or sharing with your friends.
www.paypal.com
November 11, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Hello everyone, friends, followers, and supporters of Ukraine
I'm starting a new fundraiser for $120,000 to help Ukraine with engineering equipment, heavy trucks with cranes, and excavators
Please watch the video and read to understand why this matters
donation link www.paypal.com/donate?campa...
I'm starting a new fundraiser for $120,000 to help Ukraine with engineering equipment, heavy trucks with cranes, and excavators
Please watch the video and read to understand why this matters
donation link www.paypal.com/donate?campa...
Reposted by Maciek Zając
A London court sentenced six people to prison terms ranging from 8 to 17 years for setting fire to warehouses containing humanitarian aid for Ukraine on behalf of the Wagner Group.
The fire occurred on March 20, 2024, and caused £1.3 million in damage. www.bbc.com/news/article...
The fire occurred on March 20, 2024, and caused £1.3 million in damage. www.bbc.com/news/article...
October 24, 2025 at 6:32 PM
A London court sentenced six people to prison terms ranging from 8 to 17 years for setting fire to warehouses containing humanitarian aid for Ukraine on behalf of the Wagner Group.
The fire occurred on March 20, 2024, and caused £1.3 million in damage. www.bbc.com/news/article...
The fire occurred on March 20, 2024, and caused £1.3 million in damage. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Maciek Zając
Meanwhile, here's part of the amicus brief from the military brass also filed today in the same case, in support of neither party, but definitely not in support of Trump.
October 9, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Meanwhile, here's part of the amicus brief from the military brass also filed today in the same case, in support of neither party, but definitely not in support of Trump.
Reposted by Maciek Zając
Eleanor the cat, companion and symbol of the Ukrainian Coast Guard boat crew.
October 4, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Eleanor the cat, companion and symbol of the Ukrainian Coast Guard boat crew.
Pleased to see my article on AWS and the threshold of armed conflict come out; I problematize often simplistic assumptions that characterize the initial takes on the issue and call for more in-depth and empirically grounded study of the issue. 🧵 with several of my main points:
Autonomous weapon systems impact on incidence of armed conflict: rejecting the ‘lower threshold for war argument’ - Ethics and Information Technology
Some proponents of a ban on Autonomous Weapon Systems (AWS) believe adopting these would lower the threshold for war, and is thus morally undesirable. This paper argues against that thesis. First, rem...
link.springer.com
September 22, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Pleased to see my article on AWS and the threshold of armed conflict come out; I problematize often simplistic assumptions that characterize the initial takes on the issue and call for more in-depth and empirically grounded study of the issue. 🧵 with several of my main points:
My article on autonomous wepaons is out, one of the few focusing on terrorist and authroitarian threats where, as I argue, we need specific and tailored solutions other than a general ban. It's open access, so help yourselves!
Stopping Killer Robot Proliferation to Tyrants and Terrorists: Why A Global Ban Is Neither Necessary Nor Sufficient - Philosophy & Technology
Autonomous weapon systems (AWS) – military robots able to select and engage targets with lethal force on their own – are a subject of voluminous ethical debates, with many calling for a universal ban ...
link.springer.com
June 25, 2025 at 10:28 AM
My article on autonomous wepaons is out, one of the few focusing on terrorist and authroitarian threats where, as I argue, we need specific and tailored solutions other than a general ban. It's open access, so help yourselves!
Reposted by Maciek Zając
I am heir to 2,400 year old living traditions of self-government and historical inquiry, which have weathered two millennia of setbacks and long nights.
They are heirs of a 10-minute old rebrand of a murderous 20th century ideology that failed almost immediately when tried.
So, yeah, contempt.
They are heirs of a 10-minute old rebrand of a murderous 20th century ideology that failed almost immediately when tried.
So, yeah, contempt.
As much as people like to dunk on liberal elitism, “these Nazi punks are crass idiots and I refuse to bow to my lessers” is, for me at least, necessary for morale and stiffens my backbone when I feel like giving up.
May 7, 2025 at 3:31 PM
I am heir to 2,400 year old living traditions of self-government and historical inquiry, which have weathered two millennia of setbacks and long nights.
They are heirs of a 10-minute old rebrand of a murderous 20th century ideology that failed almost immediately when tried.
So, yeah, contempt.
They are heirs of a 10-minute old rebrand of a murderous 20th century ideology that failed almost immediately when tried.
So, yeah, contempt.
Reposted by Maciek Zając
I look at close to 100 stories a week and even more outside of work. I’ve done this ten years.
This is among the most horrific things I’ve ever read — testimony from dying children whose access to medicine has been cut off by the Trump administration.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
This is among the most horrific things I’ve ever read — testimony from dying children whose access to medicine has been cut off by the Trump administration.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
Haunted by hopelessness: 12 Zambians share their stories as HIV drugs run out
Mothers and children, husbands and wives, doctors, truck drivers and religious leaders are all grappling with the fallout from the sudden U.S. cuts in aid.
www.npr.org
April 17, 2025 at 1:58 AM
I look at close to 100 stories a week and even more outside of work. I’ve done this ten years.
This is among the most horrific things I’ve ever read — testimony from dying children whose access to medicine has been cut off by the Trump administration.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
This is among the most horrific things I’ve ever read — testimony from dying children whose access to medicine has been cut off by the Trump administration.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
Reposted by Maciek Zając
World War II really was 'the Good War,' the Nazis really were bad and needed to be defeated (Imperial Japan too) and while it is true not all of the Allies were Good Guys it is true all of the Axis were Bad Guys.
"The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory."
"The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory."
April 11, 2025 at 8:44 PM
World War II really was 'the Good War,' the Nazis really were bad and needed to be defeated (Imperial Japan too) and while it is true not all of the Allies were Good Guys it is true all of the Axis were Bad Guys.
"The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory."
"The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory."
Reposted by Maciek Zając
Absolutely chilling stuff
French researcher, going to a conference in Houston, was forbidden entry to US; his work and personal electronics were both confiscated.
Why? Because a “random search” of his cell phone revealed a negative personal opinion on Trump and the Trump administration. www.lemonde.fr/internationa...
Why? Because a “random search” of his cell phone revealed a negative personal opinion on Trump and the Trump administration. www.lemonde.fr/internationa...
Etats-Unis : un chercheur français refoulé pour avoir exprimé « une opinion personnelle sur la politique menée par l’administration Trump »
Le ministre de la recherche a dit sa « préoccupation », mercredi, après cette décision des autorités américaines. Le chercheur du CNRS aurait subi un contrôle aléatoire à son arrivée, avant que son or...
www.lemonde.fr
March 19, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Absolutely chilling stuff
Reposted by Maciek Zając
A president who thinks this may find that he does not command an army either, to the misery of all involved, including you and me, dear reader.
One close Trump adviser simply says that the president’s ultimate leverage against certain judges who try to stand in the way of his agenda is that the judiciary does not command an army, while the president of the United States does.
'Move Fast': Inside Team Trump's Furious Defiance of the Courts
Donald Trump's advisers are attacking judges for daring to “control” him. Trump wants the one objecting to his deportation plans to be “IMPEACHED!!!”
www.rollingstone.com
March 18, 2025 at 2:39 PM
A president who thinks this may find that he does not command an army either, to the misery of all involved, including you and me, dear reader.
Reposted by Maciek Zając
This was so wild even nihilistic me thought maybe it wasn’t true but yes it seems to be true
March 16, 2025 at 3:13 AM
This was so wild even nihilistic me thought maybe it wasn’t true but yes it seems to be true
Reposted by Maciek Zając
The US will no longer worry about civilians getting in the way of their bombs:
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03...
March 4, 2025 at 7:21 PM
The US will no longer worry about civilians getting in the way of their bombs:
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/03...
Reposted by Maciek Zając
Speaking truth to power is always courageous. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/u...
The Bishop Who Pleaded With Trump: ‘Was Anyone Going to Say Anything?’
Bishop Budde locked eyes with President Trump and made a plea for mercy — and the war over spiritual authority in America was ignited anew.
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Speaking truth to power is always courageous. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/u...
A genuinely difficult problem we now encounter in public life, even in countries that have not been swept by this wave of postmodern authoritrianism
This isn't a critique of @pptsapper.bsky.social but I think that "am I going crazy?" vibe is part of the point. Throwing out a hundred insane ideas that would turn out badly creates a dilemma for journalists and the concerned public, because 99 of those insane, bad ideas aren't going to happen.
Sweet tiny baby jeebus, I swear to fuck that I’m living in some sort of alternate reality where everyone has suddenly gone stark raving right round the bend insane
The normalization of batshit crazy is honestly more stunning than the batshit crazy itself
The normalization of batshit crazy is honestly more stunning than the batshit crazy itself
December 24, 2024 at 6:16 AM
A genuinely difficult problem we now encounter in public life, even in countries that have not been swept by this wave of postmodern authoritrianism
Reposted by Maciek Zając
I am struck by how it seems like globally, the autocrats and would-be autocrats are well aware that their interests are aligned against democracy.
It seems to me that we greatly need of a matching 'liberal' (in the international sense) international movement dedicated to preserving democracies.
It seems to me that we greatly need of a matching 'liberal' (in the international sense) international movement dedicated to preserving democracies.
December 3, 2024 at 9:59 PM
I am struck by how it seems like globally, the autocrats and would-be autocrats are well aware that their interests are aligned against democracy.
It seems to me that we greatly need of a matching 'liberal' (in the international sense) international movement dedicated to preserving democracies.
It seems to me that we greatly need of a matching 'liberal' (in the international sense) international movement dedicated to preserving democracies.
Reposted by Maciek Zając
With Russia's budget deficit at 3.3 trillion rubles, 21% key interest rate and 2-3 million job vacancies, Russia has to choose between hyperinflation or an economic freeze, says Vladimir Milov, former Deputy Minister of Energy in an interview with Frontelligence Insight
🧵Thread:
🧵Thread:
December 3, 2024 at 6:47 PM
With Russia's budget deficit at 3.3 trillion rubles, 21% key interest rate and 2-3 million job vacancies, Russia has to choose between hyperinflation or an economic freeze, says Vladimir Milov, former Deputy Minister of Energy in an interview with Frontelligence Insight
🧵Thread:
🧵Thread:
One thing that strikes me in Western reception of recent events in Syria is that so many people are basically openly rooting for HTS to engage in war crimes/persecutions in order to be proven right in their view that no jihadi/islamist organization can ever evolve in a right direction 1/4
December 2, 2024 at 2:40 PM
One thing that strikes me in Western reception of recent events in Syria is that so many people are basically openly rooting for HTS to engage in war crimes/persecutions in order to be proven right in their view that no jihadi/islamist organization can ever evolve in a right direction 1/4
Reposted by Maciek Zając
what i think most people don't understand is that defense spending is not actually high--in fact, it is *near record lows* as a percent of gdp. and we're not living in the end of history anymore--we're headed into a new era of instability and great power conflict.
www.defense.gov/Multimedia/P...
www.defense.gov/Multimedia/P...
December 1, 2024 at 6:22 PM
what i think most people don't understand is that defense spending is not actually high--in fact, it is *near record lows* as a percent of gdp. and we're not living in the end of history anymore--we're headed into a new era of instability and great power conflict.
www.defense.gov/Multimedia/P...
www.defense.gov/Multimedia/P...
Looking for examples of seminal war ethics texts that constituted straightforward and timely reactions to contemporary events - Nagel's "War and Massacre" and McMahan's/Kim's "Just War and the Gulf War" fit this bill. Any other candidates?
November 27, 2024 at 2:45 PM
Looking for examples of seminal war ethics texts that constituted straightforward and timely reactions to contemporary events - Nagel's "War and Massacre" and McMahan's/Kim's "Just War and the Gulf War" fit this bill. Any other candidates?
Reposted by Maciek Zając
“It’s ‘boring war’ — stuff like ammunition stockpiles, transport and logistics — that really matters,” says Stringer, who has written about a possible post-US Nato. “It’s also what almost nobody does properly at scale, except for the US.” www.ft.com/content/6bea...
Can Europe defend itself without America?
The continent will have to spend more as Trump refocuses policy elsewhere. But replacing US military heft will not be easy
www.ft.com
November 25, 2024 at 3:36 PM
“It’s ‘boring war’ — stuff like ammunition stockpiles, transport and logistics — that really matters,” says Stringer, who has written about a possible post-US Nato. “It’s also what almost nobody does properly at scale, except for the US.” www.ft.com/content/6bea...
Reposted by Maciek Zając
The full-scale invasion day 1,000th.
We owe everything we have to a Ukrainan soldier - who’s tired, unwilling, outnumbered, and outgunned, sensing grief and injustice - yet who keeps doing the terrible job every single day to save the world.
We owe everything we have to a Ukrainan soldier - who’s tired, unwilling, outnumbered, and outgunned, sensing grief and injustice - yet who keeps doing the terrible job every single day to save the world.
November 19, 2024 at 7:13 AM
The full-scale invasion day 1,000th.
We owe everything we have to a Ukrainan soldier - who’s tired, unwilling, outnumbered, and outgunned, sensing grief and injustice - yet who keeps doing the terrible job every single day to save the world.
We owe everything we have to a Ukrainan soldier - who’s tired, unwilling, outnumbered, and outgunned, sensing grief and injustice - yet who keeps doing the terrible job every single day to save the world.