It’s not all about AI and software. You need hardware compact enough — and secure enough — to deploy into a war zone.

The Pentagon insists it doesn’t want them. But could a global ban really rein in Russia or China?

Don’t fear robots who rebel against their human masters. Fear robots that obey the wrong human.

Why did an obscure Army program inspire headlines about “killer robots”?

Alarming headlines to the contrary, the US Army isn’t building robotic “killing machines.” What they really want artificial intelligence to do in combat is much more interesting.

Don’t think about the Terminator or Iron Man: Think about Sigourney Weaver’s power loader lifting crates in Aliens.

What mission does the Army really need armed robots for — expendable scouts, perhaps, or supplementary fire support? And does buying robots for that role really offer more tactical value than spending the same money on mundane upgrades to, say, self-propelled artillery?

UPDATED w/ Mahnken interview CAPITOL HILL: The US military is not ready for war against Russia or China, leading experts told the House Armed Services Committee this morning. How can Congress help? Champion new technologies that would otherwise drown in the Pentagon bureaucracy, they said, the way it did with the Predator drone and Tomahawk missile in… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON:  As China forges ahead trying to grab the head of the technology table by throwing money, policy and people at quantum computing and artificial intelligence, the US should carefully watch what companies China invests in or tries to buy. Those were the conclusions of three of the top China and technology experts in Washington… Keep reading →

AUSA: American military leaders talk how artificial intelligence will change the face of war, but the unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) actually in development are much more modest and less lethal. They’re mostly small, mostly unarmed, and fall short not only of Pentagon visions of future warfare, but of the tank-like machines the Russians are experimenting with today.… Keep reading →