Ready to fire bullets and hurl grenades, a Modular Advanced Armed Robotic System, operated by a soldier behind cover, rolls into action in a training setup at Fort Benning, Georgia. Future military robots endowed with ethical programs might be able to decide on their own when, and at whom, to shoot.

©Max Aguilera-Hellweg/National Geographic; featured in the August 2011 issue of National Geographic, on sale July 28.

[Making Robots Human: Are We Ready?]