Haha, the Terminator movies got the name of the corporation that created SkyNet wrong :)
With the recruitment problems and personal shortages that the West armies are experiencing they will definitely turn to AI at first chance. It may have some dangerous consequences even if an AGI doesn't decide to get rid of the humans.
One hypothesis I've heard is that the weapons of the age to a degree determine the social order. E.g. in Ancient Greece and Rome a free citizen could afford to buy on the market the ultimate weapon of the time - a bronze or iron sword. Hence it was very expensive for a small elite to hire enough mercenaries to stay in power if the people didn't want it, and so Athens and Rome had democracy and a republic. Or the American colonists in 18th century could afford muskets, making it very expensive for Britain to keep them under control if they didn't want it. On the other side in Medieval Europe when a knights suite costed as much as a village very few could afford one and they had absolute power, independent of what the peasants wanted.
The switch to AI, robots, drones, etc. in the modern armies may mean that a small elite will have the means to enforce it's interests independent of what the majority of people want.
borissk|2 years ago
With the recruitment problems and personal shortages that the West armies are experiencing they will definitely turn to AI at first chance. It may have some dangerous consequences even if an AGI doesn't decide to get rid of the humans.
One hypothesis I've heard is that the weapons of the age to a degree determine the social order. E.g. in Ancient Greece and Rome a free citizen could afford to buy on the market the ultimate weapon of the time - a bronze or iron sword. Hence it was very expensive for a small elite to hire enough mercenaries to stay in power if the people didn't want it, and so Athens and Rome had democracy and a republic. Or the American colonists in 18th century could afford muskets, making it very expensive for Britain to keep them under control if they didn't want it. On the other side in Medieval Europe when a knights suite costed as much as a village very few could afford one and they had absolute power, independent of what the peasants wanted.
The switch to AI, robots, drones, etc. in the modern armies may mean that a small elite will have the means to enforce it's interests independent of what the majority of people want.