Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century » (Reprint)

P.W. Singer, director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at the Brookings Institution, has worked in the Pentagon and consulted for the departments of Defense and State, the CIA, and Congress. He is the author of two previous books, Corporate Warriors and Children at War.

"riveting and comprehensive, encompassing every aspect of the rise of military robotics." —Financial Times

In Wired for War, P. W. Singer explores the great­est revolution in military affairs since the atom bomb: the dawn of robotic warfare. We are on the cusp of a massive shift in military technology that threatens to make real the stuff of I, Robot and The Terminator. Blending historical evidence with interviews of an amaz­ing cast of characters, Singer shows how technology is changing not just how wars are fought, but also the politics, economics, laws, and the ethics that surround war itself. Traveling from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan to modern-day "skunk works" in the midst of suburbia, Wired for War will tantalize a wide readership, from military buffs to policy wonks to gearheads.

Publishers Weekly

Brookings Institute fellow Singer (Children at War) believes that "we resist trying to research and understand change" in the making of war. Robotics promises to be the most comprehensive instrument of change in war since the introduction of gunpowder. Beginning with a brief and useful survey of robotics, Singer discusses its military applications during WWII, the arming and autonomy of robots at the turn of the century, and the broad influence of robotics on near-future battlefields. How, for example, can rules of engagement for unmanned autonomous machines be created and enforced? Can an artificial intelligence commit a war crime? Arguably more significant is Singer's provocative case that war itself will be redefined as technology creates increasing physical and emotional distance from combat. As robotics diminishes war's risks the technology diminishes as well the higher purposes traditionally used to justify it. Might that reduce humanity's propensity for war making? Or will robotics make war less humane by making it less human? Singer has more questions than answers-but it is difficult to challenge his concluding admonition to question and study the technologies of military robotics-while the chance remains. (Jan. 26)

Author's Note: Why a Book on Robots and War? 1

Pt. 1 The Change We Are Creating

1 Introduction: Scenes from a Robot War 19

2 Smart Bombs, Norma Jeane, and Defecating Ducks: A Short History of Robotics 42

3 Robotics for Dummies 66

4 To Infinity and Beyond: The Power of Exponential Trends 94

5 Coming Soon to a Battlefield Near You: The Next Wave of Warbots 109

6 Always in the Loop? The Arming and Autonomy of Robots 123

7 Robotic Gods: Our Machine Creators 135

8 What Inspires Them: Science Fiction's Impact on Science Reality 150

9 The Refuseniks: The Roboticists Who Just Say No 170

Pt. 2 What Change Is Creating for Us

10 The Big Cebrowski and the Real RMA: Thinking About Revolutionary Technologies 179

11 "Advanced" Warfare: How We Might Fight with Robots 205

12 Robots That Don't Like Apple Pi: How the U.S. Could Lose the Unmanned Revolution 237

13 Open-Source Warfare: College Kids, Terrorists, and Other New Users of Robots at War 261

14 Losers and Luddites: The Changing Battlefields Robots Will Fight On and the New Electronic Sparks of War 279

15 The Psychology of Warbots 297

16 YouTube War: The Public and Its Unmanned Wars 315

17 Changing the Experience of War and the Warrior 326

18 Command and Control ... Alt-Delete: New Technologies and Their Effect on Leadership 344

19 Who Let You in the War? Technology and the New Demographics of Conflict 360

20 Digitizing the Laws of War and Other Issues of (Un)Human Rights 382

21 A Robot Revolt? Talking About Robot Ethics 413

22 Conclusion: The Duality of Robots and Humans 428

Acknowledgments 437

Notes 439

Index 483