Algorithmic Armies
December 20, 2022 5:05 PM Subscribe
"Tenacity, will and harnessing the latest technology give the Ukrainians a decisive advantage,” Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told me last week. “We are witnessing the ways wars will be fought, and won, for years to come.” Washington Post column parts 1 & 2
"But it obscures many important questions: How dependent should countries be on entrepreneurs whose policy views could change? We can applaud the use of these tools in “good” wars, but what about bad ones?...We’ll be struggling with these questions about technology and warfare for the rest of this century... what if an entrepreneur decides to wage a private war? What if authoritarian movements gain control of democratic societies and use technology to advance control rather than freedom?"
(Sorry, I'm not able to find the ungated version, but if someone else can please that would be appreciated.)
"But it obscures many important questions: How dependent should countries be on entrepreneurs whose policy views could change? We can applaud the use of these tools in “good” wars, but what about bad ones?...We’ll be struggling with these questions about technology and warfare for the rest of this century... what if an entrepreneur decides to wage a private war? What if authoritarian movements gain control of democratic societies and use technology to advance control rather than freedom?"
(Sorry, I'm not able to find the ungated version, but if someone else can please that would be appreciated.)
Wtf does a US General know about winning wars? They're just glorified salesmen for arms dealers who make more money losing wars and destroying entire. Ukraine is just the latest human sacrifice to the war gods Raytheon and Lockheed Martin and you dummies are happily cheering it on. You guys are just regurgitating propaganda.
posted by indica at 11:54 PM on December 21, 2022
posted by indica at 11:54 PM on December 21, 2022
Fascinating. I didn't know that Raytheon invaded Ukraine. And here I was thinking it was Russia.
posted by tavella at 5:13 AM on December 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by tavella at 5:13 AM on December 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
You guys are just regurgitating propaganda.
Someone is, that's for sure.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 2:27 PM on December 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
Someone is, that's for sure.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 2:27 PM on December 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
You don't need to just worry about Musk-like entrepreneurs. Purported allied nations can block strategic decisions as Germany is doing right now to the rest of NATA by blocking the delivery of Leopard tanks from other nations. You now have to carefully consider your arms supply chains and whether export restrictions can be utilized against you. Russia is also learning this lesson as sanctions are cutting in their militaries ability to re-arm.
This doesn't just have short term military implications though. I bet going forward countries are going to think long and hard about buying weaponry from countries that have suspect ties or unstable politics. Germany is effectively undermining themselves as arms suppliers to rest of the EU and NATO. Poland has already decided to switch their MBT over to US Abrams from German Leopards and have indicated they might be wiling to defy Germany's export restriction.
Interesting political side battles going on along side the Ukraine War.
posted by srboisvert at 6:48 AM on January 19, 2023
This doesn't just have short term military implications though. I bet going forward countries are going to think long and hard about buying weaponry from countries that have suspect ties or unstable politics. Germany is effectively undermining themselves as arms suppliers to rest of the EU and NATO. Poland has already decided to switch their MBT over to US Abrams from German Leopards and have indicated they might be wiling to defy Germany's export restriction.
Interesting political side battles going on along side the Ukraine War.
posted by srboisvert at 6:48 AM on January 19, 2023
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How dependent should countries be on entrepreneurs whose policy views could change?
As the article describes, the Ukrainians are very keen on developing their own tech, which would help them evade this problem.
What if authoritarian movements gain control of democratic societies and use technology to advance control rather than freedom?
That is not a new issue. Technology can certainly be used to oppress. But it can also be used to resist.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 5:32 PM on December 20, 2022 [1 favorite]