Army of none: autonomous weapons and the future of war

Introduction: The power over life and death

PART I: ROBOCALYPSE NOW. The coming swarm : the military robotics revolution ; The Terminator and the Roomba : what is autonomy? ; Machines that kill : what is an autonomous weapon?

PART II: BUILDING THE TERMINATOR. The future being built today : autonomous missiles, drones, and robot swarms ; Inside the puzzle palace : is the Pentagon building autonomous weapons? ; Crossing the threshold : approving autonomous weapons ; World War R : robotic weapons around the world ; Garage bots : DIY killer robots

PART III: RUNAWAY GUN. Robots run amok : failure in autonomous systems ; Command and decision : can autonomous weapons be used safely? ; Black box : the weird, alien world of deep neural networks ; Failing deadly : the risk of autonomous weapons

PART IV: FLASH WAR. Bot vs. bot : an arms race in speed ; The invisible war : autonomy in cyberspace ; "Summoning the demon" : the rise of intelligent machines

PART V: THE FIGHT TO BAN AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS. Robots on trial : autonomous weapons and the laws of war ; Soulless killers : the morality of autonomous weapons ; Playing with fire : autonomous weapons and stability

PART VI: AVERTING ARMAGEDDON : THE WEAPON OF POLICY. Centaur warfighters : humans + machines ; The pope and the crossbow : the mixed history of arms control ; Are autonomous weapons inevitable? : the search for lethal laws of robotics

Conclusion: No fate but what we make.

Part I: Robocalypse now. The coming swarm : the military robotics revolution ; The Terminator and the Roomba : what is autonomy? ; Machines that kill : what is an autonomous weapon?

Part II: Building the Terminator. The future being built today : autonomous missiles, drones, and robot swarms ; Inside the puzzle palace : is the Pentagon building autonomous weapons? ; Crossing the threshold : approving autonomous weapons ; World War R : robotic weapons around the world ; Garage bots : DIY killer robots

Part III: Runaway gun. Robots run amok : failure in autonomous systems ; Command and decision : Can autonomous weapons be used safely? ; Black box : the weird, alien world of deep neural networks ; Failing deadly : the risk of autonomous weapons

Part IV: Flash war. Bot vs. bot : an arms race in speed ; The invisible war : autonomy in cyberspace ; "Summoning the demon" : the rise of intelligent machines

Part V: The fight to ban autonomous weapons. Robots on trial : autonomous weapons and the laws of war ; Soulless killers : the morality of autonomous weapons ; Playing with fire : autonomous weapons and stability

Part VI: Averting armageddon : the weapon of policy. Centaur warfighters : humans + machines ; The Pope and the crossbow : the mixed history of arms control ; Are autonomous weapons inevitable? : the search for lethal laws of robotics

No fate but what we make

How robotic weapons are transforming the battlefield today.