Lay representations of artificial intelligence and autonomous military machines.

This study is about how lay persons perceive and represent artificial intelligence in general as well as its use in weaponised autonomous ground vehicles in the military context. We analysed the discourse of six focus groups in Estonia, using an automatic text analysis tool and complemented the results by a qualitative thematic content analysis. The findings show that representations of artificial intelligence-driven machines are anchored in the image of man. A cluster analysis revealed five dominant themes: artificial intelligence as programmed machines, artificial intelligence and the problem of control, artificial intelligence and its relation to human life, artificial intelligence used in wars and ethical problems in developing autonomous weaponised machines. The findings are discussed with regard to people's tendency to anthropomorphise robots despite their lack of emotions, which can be seen as a last resort when confronting an autonomous machine where the usual interpersonal understanding of intentions does not apply.

Nanostructures Stacked on Hafnium Oxide Films Interfacing Graphene and Silicon Oxide Layers as Resistive Switching Media.

SiO2 films were grown to thicknesses below 15 nm by ozone-assisted atomic layer deposition. The graphene was a chemical vapor deposited on copper foil and transferred wet-chemically to the SiO2 films. On the top of the graphene layer, either continuous HfO2 or SiO2 films were grown by plasma-assisted atomic layer deposition or by electron beam evaporation, respectively. Micro-Raman spectroscopy confirmed the integrity of the graphene after the deposition processes of both the HfO2 and SiO2. Stacked nanostructures with graphene layers intermediating the SiO2 and either the SiO2 or HfO2 insulator layers were devised as the resistive switching media between the top Ti and bottom TiN electrodes. The behavior of the devices was studied comparatively with and without graphene interlayers. The switching processes were attained in the devices supplied with graphene interlayers, whereas in the media consisting of the SiO2-HfO2 double layers only, the switching effect was not observed. In addition, the endurance characteristics were improved after the insertion of graphene between the wide band gap dielectric layers. Pre-annealing the Si/TiN/SiO2 substrates before transferring the graphene further improved the performance.

Memory Effects in Nanolaminates of Hafnium and Iron Oxide Films Structured by Atomic Layer Deposition.

HfO2 and Fe2O3 thin films and laminated stacks were grown by atomic layer deposition at 350 °C from hafnium tetrachloride, ferrocene, and ozone. Nonlinear, saturating, and hysteretic magnetization was recorded in the films. Magnetization was expectedly dominated by increasing the content of Fe2O3. However, coercive force could also be enhanced by the choice of appropriate ratios of HfO2 and Fe2O3 in nanolaminated structures. Saturation magnetization was observed in the measurement temperature range of 5-350 K, decreasing towards higher temperatures and increasing with the films' thicknesses and crystal growth. Coercive force tended to increase with a decrease in the thickness of crystallized layers. The films containing insulating HfO2 layers grown alternately with magnetic Fe2O3 exhibited abilities to both switch resistively and magnetize at room temperature. Resistive switching was unipolar in all the oxides mounted between Ti and TiN electrodes.