Overview

Why AI will not replace human strategic judgement in war Is AI about to automate war? Will autonomous drone swarms and killer robots controlled by AI dominate the battlespace and determine the winner? In AI, Automation, and War, Anthony King debunks this science fictiontinged narrative of AI's military potential, exploring instead the actual applications of AI by the armed forces over the last decade. He finds that AI is not going to replace human commanders and combatants; the machines are not about to take over. Rather, the military has used, and will continue to use, AI to process data at a scale and speed that exceeds the capacity of humans. AI will be used primarily to improve military understanding and intelligence. King explains that military commanders, enabled by the data processing power of AI, will be able to see the battlespace at a previously unattainable depth, fidelity, and speed. AI will help the armed forces plan, target, and conduct cyber operations faster and more effectively. In order to harness AI in this way, however, a radical organisational transformation is taking place. The armed forces are integrating civilian technologists into operational headquarters to work alongside military staff. This partnership between the armed forces and the technology sector signals the emergence of a military-tech complex that promises to be as powerful in this century as the military-industrial complex was in the last.

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Reviews

""A truly thought-provoking tour de force."" * War on the Rocks *

""A truly thought-provoking tour de force."" * War on the Rocks * ""[AI, Automation, and War] reads like an illuminating intelligence briefing, rich in description and light on both jargon and normative positions. . . . His argument is clear: The fears (and hopes) of full autonomy are misplaced. AI is not 'replacing humans.' Nor is the idea of human-machine teaming — which places weapons or systems on an equal footing with human agents — accurate. What we are seeing instead are decision-support systems: tools, if transformational ones, that enable planning, targeting, and cyber operations.""---Ioannis Kalpouzos, Jacobin ""King’s book succeeds in puncturing the techno-optimistic bubble that surrounds contemporary discussions of military AI, offering instead a framework grounded in organisational and sociological theory, as well as empirical case studies. For defence professionals navigating the hype cycle surrounding AI, this book represents essential reading – a rare work that insists that AI’s military utility be measured not by algorithmic sophistication, but by institutional capacity to harness it effectively.""---Franz-Stefan Gady, Survival: Global Politics and Strategy ""By starting off with such an important counterargument about AI’s place in the human world, still allowing humans significance no matter how the technology evolves, this is a welcome addition to the body of knowledge. Accessible and well written. . . . Highly recommended."" * Choice *

Author Information

Anthony King is professor of war studies and director of the Strategy and Security Institute at the University of Exeter. He is the author of Command: The Twenty-First-Century General and Urban Warfare in the Twenty-First Century.

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