| ID | 155815 |
| Title Proper | Robot Wars |
| Other Title Information | US Empire and geopolitics in the robotic age |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Shaw, Ian GR |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | How will the robot age transform warfare? What geopolitical futures are being imagined by the US military? This article constructs a robotic futurology to examine these crucial questions. Its central concern is how robots – driven by leaps in artificial intelligence and swarming – are rewiring the spaces and logics of US empire, warfare, and geopolitics. The article begins by building a more-than-human geopolitics to de-center the role of humans in conflict and foreground a worldly understanding of robots. The article then analyzes the idea of US empire, before speculating upon how and why robots are materializing new forms of proxy war. A three-part examination of the shifting spaces of US empire then follows: (1) Swarm Wars explores the implications of miniaturized drone swarming; (2) Roboworld investigates how robots are changing US military basing strategy and producing new topological spaces of violence; and (3) The Autogenic Battle-Site reveals how autonomous robots will produce emergent, technologically event-ful sites of security and violence – revolutionizing the battlespace. The conclusion reflects on the rise of a robotic US empire and its consequences for democracy. |
| `In' analytical Note | Security Dialogue Vol. 48, No.5; Oct 2017: p.451-470 |
| Journal Source | Security Dialogue Vol: 48 No 5 |
| Key Words | Geopolitics ; Warfare ; Empire ; Robots ; US Military ; Drones |