Wars have gone on since humans figured out how to use bones as weapons. The competitive and animalistic nature deep in our DNA causes our species to engage in the most vicious and dangerous acts. The reason? Territory, resources, and power. The strongest always shaped the face of war: bigger budgets, smarter scientists, and more resources always provided an upper hand. War went from forests to kingdoms; across the seas and skies; on the internet, and under the ocean. It’s a deadly game of chess that ended up playing on a global scale. Now war has politics infused with it, slowing things down but not stopping it altogether.
Slowly but surely, technology has found its way into war as well. Machines and software systems handle processes and enhance soldiers’ abilities on the battlefield. Here’s the catch: humans must still fight battles themselves.
The rarely discussed side of war is the compassionate side. The quality of soldiers varies, but the empathy soldiers have for each other remains the same. Humans have a very fundamental (some could say flawed) way to create relationships and use those relationships to aid them in the toughest of times, for the toughest of times. Atrocities that soldiers witness and commit, incredible sacrifices, and acts of bravery contribute to strengthening the relationships soldiers have.
However, all things must end, and war is no exception. Of course, I am getting ahead of myself. War will never end. I am describing a hypothetical scenario that pushes humans out of the spotlight of war and introduces a new piece to the chess board; a programmable piece.
Wars are fought with blood, sweat, and tears. Behind the scenes is a different story. Strategy and intuition are the bread and butter to which wars are created, understood, and ended. The underlying problem rests upon one sole factor: humans. As we have discussed, war is a human construct. Thus, the way it is conducted is simply, human. Where do robots and artificial intelligence come into play when intuition, charisma, compassion, empathy, and other humanistic traits are so dire under the circumstances of war?
As we have seen, developers worldwide are not shy in creating the snazziest applications or contributing to the tech giants around the world. Your social media platforms are only as great as the developers behind them. As a result, you enjoy a superb experience online.
Once these developers realize there is more money, notoriety, and power in developing war, the world may shift in a very grievous direction. Imagine the Mark Zuckerberg of autonomous weapons or the Jack Dorsey of killer drones. Developers may come to a sudden realization that war is the jackpot. Still, the truth is that governments will eventually understand that war can be escalated dramatically through software and begin to secretly (or not) employ and deploy developers the same way they use and deploy soldiers. Enlisting for the military could be a work-from-home exercise.
Politicians have already started to see the power of social media algorithms to decide elections. Generation Z will be pivotal in electing the next world leaders, and they will do so from the comfort of their couch on Twitter and Facebook rather than in the voting rooms. Similarly, militaries worldwide will start considering how programmers can help them increase their military capabilities and intelligence. Could the next army general be working remotely on his couch? Will we see anti-tank missiles coded on a laptop in Starbucks? It is quite possible, though the consequences may outweigh the benefits.
Again, this relates to ethics. Is this something we are comfortable with? Can we even stop this? How will this affect Gen Z? What global issues will arise from these issues? Will these lead us closer to World War 3? Take some time to think about these questions and formulate your understanding. War and technology started to fuse long ago, but now they are accelerating each other proportionally. The damage remains to be seen.