Getting Past The Hype On Emerging Military Technologies Is A Life And Death Issue

The rush to apply cutting edge technologies like artificial intelligence to military systems is well under way in Washington, but even more so in Silicon Valley, where venture capital firms and military startups are pushing the pace by investing billions of dollars and engaging in over-the-top hype about the benefits of moving towards automated warfare.

A new paper by Roberto J. Gonzalez for the Brown University Costs of War Project offers a much needed corrective to some of the uncritical cheerleading that has accompanied the debate over emerging military technologies. Contrary to the claims of its advocates, these alleged miracle weapons are not guaranteed to cost less, work better, save lives, deter China, and generally make the world a more peaceful and secure place. Many of these arguments are being pushed by a new breed of techno-evangelists, many of whom stand to make billions if we go down the high tech path they are so aggressively promoting.

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