TED 2009: Wired For War
From pwsinger.com
“Dr. Singer is considered one of the world’s leading experts on changes in 21st century warfare. He has written for the full range of major media and journals, including the Boston Globe, L.A. Times, New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Current History, Survival, International Security, Parameters, Weltpolitik, and the World Policy Journal.”
Dr.Peter Warren Singer studies and writes about war. He was recently on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, to talk about his new book ‘Wired for War’ If he cranked TDS’s geekometer to 11, It is quite likely that the geekometer here at TED will break.
If Moore’s law holds true, robots will become even more powerful than they are today. There is a revolution in the instruments of war. They affect not only the how, but the who of fighting wars. It changes the experience and identity of the warrior. You have to think of other countries working on robotics. What does this mean about the state of education, science and tech in America. As sw has gone open source, so has warfare. The components can be sourced from around the world. Bad guys can also make drones just like Hobbyists (like GeekDad) do.
2 trends
-Reinforcement of power of individuals against govt.
- Al-Qaeda 2.0 and a shift in tactics of terrorist organizations that might use robotics in their attacks. ‘You do not have to convince a robot that they will get 72 virgins for their sacrifice’
The future of war will also be a youtube war. The war will be recorded, most of the footage gathered by drones. This is typically termed as ‘war porn’. It will affect the public’s experience of war. When war becomes like an espn sportscenter version, it loses its humanity. Drone pilots also have high PTSD levels because of the difficulty in separating the experience of killing people, then having to continue with real life, go home and have a normal evening with the family.
What is the message we are sending by using machines? But when you ask people in places like Lebanon, the perspective is that use of drones is cowardly, not willing to fight mano a mano.
There are now wrinkles in the rules of war. What happens when drones misfire? How do you prosecute a robot for war crimes? Is it just a product recall issue? (as pointed out by a scientist PW singer interviewed).
The challenge: Are we going to face the reality of dealing with 21st century war? or are we going to be in denial because it all sounds too sci-fi. Is it the machines or is it us who are wired for war?
This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 at 1:55 pm and is filed under Amer. Pol., Tech, gadgets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Lola Oyelayo February 5th, 2009 at 6:58 am
Anyone say nuclear bomb? Borne out of progressive science and with the same potential for good and evil….
We have the science fiction about this already, The Matrix, I am Legend to name but two major ones and here comes the reality…..a robot doesn’t have a conscience and we know life is not all ones and zeros…..very very very scary.