Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

WIRED FOR WAR: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century, P.W. Singer, Penguin, NY, 2009, 499 pages, $29.95. the blink of an eye, observes P.W. Singer, things that were just fodder for science fiction are creeping, crawling, flying, swimming, and shooting on today's battlefields. In Wired for War, that blinking eye belongs to Singer himself, a prominent military analyst and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute. Singer's previous two books, on the rise of military contractors and the proliferation of child warriors, anticipated and illuminated emerging issues within military culture, just as military and political leaders were beginning to take notice. Singer's latest work repeats that feat, but his new topic, robotic weaponry, poses far greater challenges--and threats--to our national security. That warning may sound more like science fiction than sober analysis, but in the world of military technology, life seems to be imitating art. From Star Trek's communicators to the robotic spiders in Minority Report, Singer illustrates that what we can imagine, we can invent. Indeed, Singer's constant references to popular culture serve to demonstrate the power of imagination while illustrating various technical and ethical dilemmas that will confront policy makers in the near future. For example, how will armed robots change military culture? Singer explains how scientists, after nearly a century of toying with the idea, have now turned the concept of unmanned weapons systems into reality. From tracked vehicles bristling with machine guns to airborne drones launching Hellfires from 30,000 feet, the American military is steadily expanding its ability to kill our enemies by remote control. Will unmanned weapons create a bloodless battlefield in the future, or will such long-distance warfare simply dehumanize both the victims and those pulling the trigger (or clicking the mouse)? Not every change involves lethal weapons. New surveillance systems, for example, can see through walls and eavesdrop on calls, but the systems designed to hunt terrorists can also track the movements, record the phone calls, and monitor the web surfing habits of American citizens. Who will draw the line between national security and personal privacy? According to Singer, it won't be the scientists, many of whom seem far more concerned with reliability and performance than with the ethical implications of their work. These are among the many challenges Singer examines. More preview than polemic, Wired for War offers a peripatetic, 360-degree examination of the current and future state of robotic weaponry, while citing the viewpoint of philosophers, scientists, theorists, bloggers, terrorists, journalists, and generals. Detailed endnotes provide useful additional information. One of the most ominous trends discussed in the book is the steady progress toward machines and weapons systems with artificial intelligence, the ability to think and learn for themselves. …