Overview

Artificial Intelligence is going to war. Intelligent weapon systems are here today, and many more are on the way tomorrow. Already, they're reshaping conflict--from the chaos of battle, with pilotless drones, robot tanks and unmanned submersibles, to the headquarters far from the action, where generals and politicians use technology to weigh up what to do. AI changes how we fight, and even how likely it is that we will. In battle, warbots will be faster, more agile and more deadly than today's crewed weapons. New tactics and concepts will emerge, with spoofing and swarming to fool and overwhelm enemies. Strategies are changing too. When will an intelligent machine escalate, and how can it be deterred? Can robots predict the future? And what happens to the 'art of war' as machines themselves become creative? Autonomous warfare makes many people uneasy. An international campaign against 'killer robots' hopes to ban AI from conflict. But the genie is out--AI weapons are too useful for states to outlaw. Still, crafting sensible rules for warbots is possible. This fascinating book shows how it might be done.

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9780197672358

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Reviews

An engaging and accessible guide to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) as applied to war. -- Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs In this remarkably lucid and accessible book, Payne effortlessly cuts through both the techno-hype and pious incantations surrounding the robotic revolution in military affairs. I, Warbot may not soothe the anxieties of its readers regarding the future but it will immeasurably enhance their understanding of it. -- Antoine Bousquet, Reader in International Relations, Birkbeck, and author of The Scientific Way of Warfare In I-Warbot Kenneth Payne offers creative and insightful new perspectives on the ongoing debate around the use of AI-enabled weapons systems in future war-fighting. He makes a compelling case why a ban on killer robots may prove to be counter-productive, and instead offers three simple but nonetheless effective rules for their use that are bound to trigger intensive discussion among the military, defence officials and policy-makers. -- Franz-Stefan Gady, Research Fellow for Cyber, Space and Future Conflict, IISS A brilliant and gripping treatise on war in the age of intelligent machines. Payne's rewrite of Asimov's Three Laws of Robots to enable them to kill is quite terrifying. -- Professor Theo Farrell Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Wollongong, Australia A thought-provoking reflection on how AI will change conflict. -- The Economist Chillingly demonstrates how the military use of Artificial Intelligence weapons is becoming ever more dangerous. [...] A detailed, accessible and surprisingly entertaining book. -- Morning Star I, Warbot is an important reminder that military AI is not purely a technological feat, but also a ground for reckonings on the ethics of warfare and creative strategy. In advocating thoughtful regulation of autonomous systems, Payne offers his counterpoint to the Asimovesque robot overlords of science fiction: War will remain something that is done by, and to, humans. --International Affairs

An engaging and accessible guide to the development of artificial intelligence (AI) as applied to war. -- Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs In this remarkably lucid and accessible book, Payne effortlessly cuts through both the techno-hype and pious incantations surrounding the robotic revolution in military affairs. I, Warbot may not soothe the anxieties of its readers regarding the future but it will immeasurably enhance their understanding of it. -- Antoine Bousquet, Reader in International Relations, Birkbeck, and author of The Scientific Way of Warfare In I-Warbot Kenneth Payne offers creative and insightful new perspectives on the ongoing debate around the use of AI-enabled weapons systems in future war-fighting. He makes a compelling case why a ban on killer robots may prove to be counter-productive, and instead offers three simple but nonetheless effective rules for their use that are bound to trigger intensive discussion among the military, defence officials and policy-makers.-- Franz-Stefan Gady, Research Fellow for Cyber, Space and Future Conflict, IISS A brilliant and gripping treatise on war in the age of intelligent machines. Payne's rewrite of Asimov's Three Laws of Robots to enable them to kill is quite terrifying.-- Professor Theo Farrell Deputy Vice-Chancellor, University of Wollongong, Australia A thought-provoking reflection on how AI will change conflict. -- The Economist Chillingly demonstrates how the military use of Artificial Intelligence weapons is becoming ever more dangerous. [...] A detailed, accessible and surprisingly entertaining book. -- Morning Star I, Warbot is an important reminder that military AI is not purely a technological feat, but also a ground for reckonings on the ethics of warfare and creative strategy. In advocating thoughtful regulation of autonomous systems, Payne offers his counterpoint to the Asimovesque robot overlords of science fiction: War will remain something that is done by, and to, humans. --International Affairs

Author Information

Kenneth Payne is a reader in International Relations at King's College London. A former BBC journalist, he is the author of many articles and books, including The Psychology of Strategy: Exploring Rationality in the Vietnam War, also published by Oxford University Press.

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