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Do NOT Give Military AI the Kill Decision
Let’s keep wars fought the old-fashioned way: horrific, heartbreaking, and so unappealing that they happen infrequently.
A new Cold War has arrived.
It’s a covert arms race to develop new AI weaponry that takes human commanders out of the kill chain.
The cultural fear about autonomous weapon systems are nothing new. The 1983 antiwar film “War Games” played off the casual moviegoer’s awareness of this new device that was popping up in homes and businesses around the world: The personal computer.
What if… (the film asks) the U.S. Air Force turned over control of our nuclear arsenal to [GASP] a computer?
Today, there is a similar cultural awareness of AI. Some people are smitten by the technology and how it will be a “game changer” and will generate more wealth than the industrial revolution.
Hell, even Medium is filled to the brim with stories like “7 ways to make money with ChatGPT!” and others of the same ilk.
But in the global security world, the military, the intel weenies, and the diplomats are all thinking the same thing: whoever gets the advantage in AI is going to have an overwhelming technical advantage in war.
The reason for this is simple: When you have autonomous weapons, the speed of…
