New technology era: robots used in war

Technological advances - drones, robot cops - will make future wars bloodier

A few years ago, San Francisco unveiled a new invention - robot policemen. This may sound like a wonderful twist to some, but don't be fooled. In this case, we can consider what bloodthirsty individuals would achieve with inventions that add even more power and the ability to attack from behind, gaining a greater advantage^[1].

San Francisco started experimenting with robotic policemen as early as the end of 2022. At that time, the city purchased and deployed several robotic systems for policing, surveillance and crime prevention. Although the use of robots has been limited and mostly related to specific tasks, such as supplementing existing police resources and keeping the city safe, there is some hesitation about what would happen if the technology got out of control. This is not a worst-case scenario but a future conditioned by today's situations.

In the initial case, robots were mainly used to patrol public places such as shopping centers, parks, and metro stations. However, their use poses serious ethical challenges—and potentially even worse^[2].

Robotic dogs with machine guns will enter the battlefield in the near future

Drone warfare is not new to the US or foreign militaries. However, the American military has been experimenting for years with robot dogs used for reconnaissance.

Critical thinkers compare the technological age to the TV series "Black Mirror", which reflects the darkest side of society in the context of the consequences of innovation. Because of the hard-to-measure risks, robotic dogs should, it is argued, be included in the Geneva Convention - to avoid, in a worst-case scenario, shooting each other. It is argued that "robot wars" have always been a matter of time. While innovation outbreaks are hailed as levers of global prosperity, there is a sense of fear in the eyes of the laity as they ponder how to confront this unknown current.

Robot dogs armed with rifles by the Chinese army are indeed a cause for concern in Congress after they were 'trained' to fire a rifle during a military exercise in Cambodia. So in the June debate on the annual defense authorizations bill, lawmakers in the House of Representatives included language in a major military policy measure requiring the Department of Defence to reassess the threat of China's use of robotic gun dogs in future conflicts^[3].

What would a 110 kg robotic dog-maul-like robot firing an automatic rifle look like to you? Even though it could be a new addition to combat operations in cities, frightened people are already considering bunkers near their homes. Ironically, the idea that a robotic version of man's best friend is shooting at American soldiers (not ordinary people) seems more likely to be enough to trigger investigations into the threat it poses to the national security of the United States^[4]. 

One thing is not clear (and many more ingredients are vague): although the inventions are currently intended for industrial use, their military application highlights the lack of requirements for the use of innovation. Since, for example, Chinese robo-dogs are already raising eyebrows, it is speculated that these technologies will follow an even more intense path to prosperity.

Gaza - the world's first robotic genocide with artificial intelligence

The Ukrainian army will deploy robots to fight Russia over the next year as part of a strategy to tackle the shortage of human soldiers. Israel's formidable arsenal of ROBOT weapons also included AI turrets and unmanned attack robots. For many of us, the pursuit of robot dogs or killer drones is the stuff of horror movies. But for the Gazans, it has become an everyday reality. 

Over the past five months, the Palestinian enclave has not only been the site of one of the most deadly and destructive bombing campaigns in history; it has also been a testing ground - a living laboratory for the next generation of Israeli and Western high-tech weapons and, at the same time, a window into the disturbing realities of 21st-century war. While the use of robots and unmanned ground vehicles is nothing new, the use of these technologies has increased dramatically in Gaza^[5].

A striking example of this is the Vision 60, a menacing dog robot manufactured by Philadelphia-based Ghost Robotics. The company describes the dog as "unstoppable" and claims to have already sold it to "more than 25 national security clients". 

The dogs deployed in Gaza have also been modified with a drone called Rooster, which can detach from the dog's back (and reattach itself), resulting in a robot-drone hybrid. Despite the fact that robotic dogs in Gaza are only used for surveillance and intelligence gathering purposes, the lack of lethal weapons so far means that their development only requires one "add-on". 

You got it right: the Israeli Defence Forces are using the Gaza Strip as a technological testing ground, demonstrating four-winged drones similar to the commercial drones already on sale and which have become common in households^[6].

The use of robots for lethal force will be commonplace

From Beijing to Hangzhou, robotic dogs in the park are becoming increasingly common. But in May, "robo-dogs" received unwanted attention after a Chinese state media channel showed them being used in a live-fire exercise^[7].

"We can't control how buyers use the dog after they buy it, but we are thinking about how to ban military use in the future," said Duke Huang, marketing manager at Unitree.

Almost every advance in using artificial intelligence and robots is reflected on the battlefield. And we are just at the beginning of it all. 

Some experts are very frank: the early-generation technologies currently in use are on a par with the biplanes of the First World War compared to how powerful they will eventually become.