Army of None : Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War - Paul Scharre

Army of None

Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War

By: Paul Scharre

Paperback | 12 March 2019

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One of Bill Gates' "5 Books I Loved in 2018"

What happens when a Predator drone has as much autonomy as a Google car? Or when a weapon that can hunt its own targets is hacked? Although it sounds like science fiction, the technology already exists to create weapons that can attack targets without human input. Paul Scharre, a leading expert in emerging weapons technologies, draws on deep research and firsthand experience to explore how these next-generation weapons are changing warfare.

Scharre's far-ranging investigation examines the emergence of autonomous weapons, the movement to ban them, and the legal and ethical issues surrounding their use. He spotlights artificial intelligence in military technology, spanning decades of innovation from German noise-seeking Wren torpedoes in World War II-antecedents of today's homing missiles-to autonomous cyber weapons, submarine-hunting robot ships, and robot tank armies. Through interviews with defense experts, ethicists, psychologists, and activists, Scharre surveys what challenges might face "centaur warfighters" on future battlefields, which will combine human and machine cognition. We've made tremendous technological progress in the past few decades, but we have also glimpsed the terrifying mishaps that can result from complex automated systems-such as when advanced F-22 fighter jets experienced a computer meltdown the first time they flew over the International Date Line.

At least thirty countries already have defensive autonomous weapons that operate under human supervision. Around the globe, militaries are racing to build robotic weapons with increasing autonomy. The ethical questions within this book grow more pressing each day. To what extent should such technologies be advanced? And if responsible democracies ban them, would that stop rogue regimes from taking advantage? At the forefront of a game-changing debate, Army of None engages military history, global policy, and cutting-edge science to argue that we must embrace technology where it can make war more precise and humane, but without surrendering human judgment. When the choice is life or death, there is no replacement for the human heart.

Industry Reviews
"A tour de force of the future of war technology...A highly readable journey through the world of robots on the battlefield and beyond." -- P.W. Singer, author of Wired for War and Ghost Fleet
"One of the most interesting books on military affairs that I have read in some time." -- Thomas E. Ricks - New York Times Book Review
"A must-read for anyone interested in AI and the future of warfare." -- Task & Purpose
"An authoritative and sobering perspective on the automated battlefields that will very soon come to characterize military conflict." -- Science
"In this comprehensive analysis, Scharre moves beyond the cliches of 'killer robots.'" -- Lawrence D. Freeman - Foreign Affairs
"Army of None delivers what will likely be the most important general-audience book on this topic for at least the next decade." -- Lawfare
"A one-stop guide book to the debates, the challenges, and yes, the opportunities that can come from autonomous warfare." -- Techcrunch
"A sober, policy-focused primer on what is coming...written in an interesting and accessible manner." -- War on the Rocks

Bill Gates' 5 Books I Loved in 2018