Emerging Military Technologies: A Guide to the Issues by Wilson W. S. Wong

Author:Wilson W. S. Wong [Wong, Wilson W. S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Military, Weapons, Political Science, Security (National & International)
ISBN: 9780313396144
Google: M8zndO0caYMC
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2013-01-07T21:34:44+00:00

From Advanced Smart Weapon to Semi-Autonomy and Beyond

Many defense academics have been noting the trend of increasing area of battlefield allocated per combatant90 or, similarly, the increasing range of weapons with time. If shear destructive power is being avoided, then increased accuracy is required to compensate—this is the raison d'être for precision-guided weapons. Ranges and battle spaces have increased in size to the point where it is difficult for the human mind to handle. This has created a need for various command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) tools, with increasing amounts of automation to assist the warfighter. In other words, the current trends and needs in conventional warfare are providing plenty of opportunities that can be filled by AI advances.

Now there is reluctance for both real operational and acceptance reasons to remove the “man-in-the-loop”; so perhaps it is better to say that semi-autonomy is the direction that weapons and platforms are taking, in the near term at least. Indeed with the difficulties involved with developing a robust form of AI able to cope with the real world, it would seem that people will not be cut completely from the loop for some time to come. However, computer power is increasing at an exponential rate, and systems are becoming increasingly capable of at least mimicking many decision-making processes. Increased computer power is aiding research in other areas of science, including the nature of consciousness and sentience. These advances are converging, with perhaps long-term implications on just how much trust future leadership and warfighters are willing to place on machines that can tell when to kill.

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