Ideas
Should We Fear an AI Arms Race?
Five reasons the benefits of defense-related artificial intelligence research outweigh the risks—for now.
Science & Tech
Talking Helmets and Robot Builders: The Army's Future of 3D Printing
A researcher at the service’s Weapons and Materials Directorate lays out a vision for additive printers on the battlefield.
Science & Tech
Engineering Humans for War
Inside the Pentagon’s efforts to create a super-soldier — and change the future of the battlefield.
Ideas
The International-Relations Argument Against Killer Robots
AI-assisted weapons could spark an arms race that would increase the likelihood of wars — and the slope of their escalation.
Science & Tech
Why Humans Need To Ban Artificially Intelligent Weapons
Unlike self-aware computer networks, self-driving cars tricked out with machine guns are possible right now — as are any number of AI-augmented weapons far deadlier than their human-aimed counterparts.
Science & Tech
Hackers to Military: Replace Us With Robots? Ha!
Next year’s Cyber Grand Challenge event will pit humans against machines in a grand hacking war. DEF CON’s war gamers like their chances.
Ideas
Stephen Hawking Doesn’t Have to Fear Killer Robots
Autonomous weapons might instead thin the fog of war and make combat more transparent.
Science & Tech
The Scientists and Technologists Who Want To Keep AI Out of Weapons
Stephen Hawking, Steve Wozniak, and hundreds of others signed an open letter that begged leaders to stop a military robotics arms race.
Science & Tech
Building An Unkillable Robot
New research shows that artificial intelligence can use trial and error to finish a job even when a robot’s body is damaged.
Science & Tech
How Blitzkrieg (Sort Of) Explains Killer Robots
No one has yet solved the problems of multiple flows of control, but it’s worth studying how past generations have approached them.
Threats
Obama's Drone Reforms Don't Apply to 46 Percent of Strikes
Despite a 2013 pledge to fix the targeted killing program, the Obama administration ignores its own directives for nearly half of all strikes.
Science & Tech
These Robots Are Stranded Inside a Nuclear Disaster
This month, a Tokyo utility company sent two specially-designed robots on an ill-fated mission into the Fukushima nuclear disaster site to assess the damage.
Science & Tech
Marines Testing Piggyback Hunter Drones
A marriage of one unmanned rover and one flying drone is the “next level” in battlefield autonomy.
Science & Tech
Do Killer Robots Violate Human Rights?
To confidently say whether a ban on tomorrow's 'killer robots' is defensible or not, we need to better clarify the notions of human control and autonomy.
Ideas
Keeping Killer Robots on a Tight Leash
As militaries contemplate autonomous weapons technology, they must anticipate and plan for its consequences.
Ideas
When 'Killer Robots' Declare War
Militaries must ensure that the decision to go to war is made by humans—not autonomous weapons.
Science & Tech
These Human Rights Activists Want To Ban 'Killer Robots'
A new report, released in advance of a major UN meeting next week, implores countries to stop developing deadly autonomous machines before it’s too late.
Science & Tech
More Robots Prepare for the Military’s Robotics World Cup
It’s the US vs. China, Japan, Italy in the military’s robot super competition.
Science & Tech
The Marines Are Building Robotic War Balls
The future of amphibious assault looks kind of like an explosive inner tube. It’s really a drone.
Almost There!
Help us tailor content specifically for you: