Artificial Intelligence is going to war. Intelligent military systems are already reshaping conflict―from the chaos of battle, with pilotless drones and robot tanks, to the headquarters far from the action, where generals and politicians use technology to weigh up what to do. AI changes how we fight, and even how likely it is that we will. Warbots will be faster, more agile and more deadly than today’s crewed weapons. New tactics are already emerging, but much deeper thinking is needed. When will an intelligent machine escalate, and how might you deter it? Can robots predict the future? And what happens to the ‘art of war’ as machines become creative? An international campaign against ‘killer robots’ hopes to ban AI from conflict. But the genie is out―autonomous weapons are too useful for states to outlaw. Still, crafting sensible rules for our warbots is possible. This fascinating book shows how it might be done.
Hurst Publishers
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Chair: Dr Keith Dear, Director of Artificial Intelligence Innovation at Fujitsu Defence and Security
Speaker: Dr Kenneth Payne, Reader in International Relations at King's College London
Join us for the launch of I, Warbot, Kenneth Payne's exciting new book exploring the impact of Artificial Intelligence on warfare. With artificial intelligence prominent in the recent UK Integrated Review, the timing couldn't be better. Ken argues that AI will have an outsize influence on the character of war, both in battle and as an aid to strategy. He explores the geopolitical implications of militarised AI, its impact on armed forces, and the prospects for rules that might govern the employment of sophisticated autonomous weapons.
Register via Eventbrite, the MS Teams link will be emailed to those registered.
Bios
Dr Kenneth Payne is a Reader in International Relations at King's College London. A former BBC journalist, he is the author of three previous books on strategy.
Dr Keith Dear is Director of Artificial Intelligence Innovation at Fujitsu Defence and Security. A former Intelligence Officer in the RAF, Keith served as an Expert Advisor to the Prime Minister on Defence Modernisation & the Integrated Review, also advising on national strategies on emerging technology.
Book reviews:
A brilliant and gripping treatise on war in the age of intelligent machines. Payne's rewrite of Asimov's Three Laws of Robots to enable them to kill is quite terrifying.
Theo Farrell, Author of the Sunday Times Book of the Year, Unwinnable: Britain's War in Afghanistan
In I-Warbot Kenneth Payne offers creative and insightful new perspectives on the ongoing debate around the use of AI-enabled weapons systems in future war-fighting. He makes a compelling case why a ban on "killer robots" may prove to be counter-productive, and instead offers three simple but nonetheless effective rules for their use that are bound to trigger intensive discussion among the military, defence officials and policy-makers.
Franz-Stefan Gady, Research Fellow for Cyber, Space and Future Conflict, IISS
In this remarkably lucid and accessible book, Payne effortlessly cuts through both the techno-hype and pious incantations surrounding the robotic revolution in military affairs. I, Warbot may not soothe the anxieties of its readers regarding the future but it will immeasurably enhance their understanding of it.
Antoine Bousquet, Reader in International Relations, Birkbeck, and author of 'The Scientific Way of Warfare'
Kenneth Payne has written a wise, original, at times even witty analysis of the looming realities of AI "thinking," tactics, and strategy. I, Human enjoyed this engaging book.
Audrey Kurth Cronin, author of the award-winning Power to the People: How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow's Terrorists
At this event
Professor of Strategy