Algorithms of Armageddon: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Wars

Summary

It is unclear if U.S. policy makers and military leaders fully realize that we have already been thrust into an artificial intelligence race with authoritarian powers. The United States' peer adversaries—China and Russia—have made clear their intentions to make major investments in AI and insert this technology into their military systems, sensors, and weapons. Algorithms of Armageddon examines this most pressing security issue in a clear, insightful delivery by two experts.

The authors cover in depth debates surrounding the AI "genie out of the bottle" controversy, AI arms races, and the resulting impact on policy and the laws of war. Given that global powers are leading large-scale development of AI, it is likely that use of this technology will be global in extent. Will AI-enabled military weapons systems lead to full-scale global war? The later chapters of the work explore these questions, point to the possibility of humans failing to control military AI applications, and conclude that the dangers for the United States are real.

Neither a protest against AI, nor a speculative work on how AI could replace humans, Algorithms of Armageddon provides a time-critical understanding of why AI is being implemented through state weaponization, the realities for the global power balance, and more importantly, U.S. national security.