Book Review - Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the Twenty- first Century
Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the Twenty- first Century
Written by: Peter Singer,
The Penguin Press, New York, 2009,
ISBN 9781594201981, 512pp
Reviewed by: Richard S Bowyer, Defence Science and Technology Organisation
Peter Singer’s Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the Twenty-first Century takes the reader on a twenty-two chapter journey through the space occupied by the mechanical, electronic and software world of real robots doing real stuff. Situated squarely in the combat zone for most of the book, the robot is portrayed, as evidenced by one letter from the frontline after another, as a helper that can do no wrong, that has saved the lives of soldiers. By the book’s end, I was encouraged that most of the big issues had been highlighted; new technology, the ethical issues of autonomous weaponised-robotic systems, operations in a complex evolving battlespace, and the challenges of fighting an adaptive enemy.
The book starts with Singer describing his perspective on robotics in the preface titled ‘Why a Book on Robots and War’. I found this section slightly annoying to read, with an upbeat tempo for the robot cause that did not seem to match my expectation of a sober analysis of robotics in war; perhaps too eager, perhaps irreverent. However, moving through the chapters, I was left with a sense of an author making genuine contact and engaging in meaningful dialogue with the people working at the edge of this field, scientist and soldier alike.
This book, while not highly technical, is laden with an impressive number of first-hand accounts and commentary from the scientists and soldiers, which are this book’s strength; sixteen pages of photographs; and a comprehensive list of references. The first half of the book deals more with the what of robotics: what they are and what has shaped society’s expectations of robotics. The second half deals with the how, why and what-if questions of robotics. The subjects covered include a good overview of the current state of robotics, deployed and under development by companies such as iRobot and Foster-Miller, with funding flowing freely from DARPA; the changing nature of battle brought about by fighting alongside robots; leadership issues; the laws of war and questions of the reliability or allegiance of robots; and the impact upon our society by this new medium of warfare. For instance, the influence that video games have on the ability of soldiers, mostly young, to control the current generation of robots equipped with deliberately Playstationlike controllers, hints at a blurring of the edges between parts of our lives, perhaps diminishing the future shock of what is around the corner.
In a comparison of robot versus human capabilities, Singer cites an example of the perceived tensions or possible threats to human pre-eminence in military frontline action. Singer writes on page 253, ‘For Example, many believe that the air force cancelled its combat drone, Boeing’s X-45, before it could even be tested, in order to keep it from competing with its manned fighter jet for the future, the Joint Strike Fighter’. I found this intriguing and more than a little believable, considering the weight savings and aerodynamic performance improvements that are possible when the pilot is taken out of the aircraft: a robot needs no oxygen to breathe, no pressure suit to stop blood pooling in the legs, will not black-out when executing high-G manoeuvres, and needs no ejector seat to escape when things go wrong. This technological edge is, perhaps, diminished by the realisation that it is the human who still administers this technology in the battlespace, and it is still the human, in the guise of the enemy insurgents in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, who are adapting to this technological tool and presenting new challenges for the robot makers.
Wired for War, bridges the gap between an academic text and a popular magazine article, throwing at the reader example after example of robots and citing numerous retired admirals and senior US officers, now vice-presidents of various robot companies. The picture so painted is one that portrays this technology as making a real difference on the frontline, where soldiers place their lives on the line and show incredible courage and commitment to their duty, as to make any thought of slowing the pace of deploying robotic technology anathema to good sense.
Wired for War is a worthy book to add to the reference library of universities and schools, and one’s own bookcase. It provides the reader with a fascinating glimpse through the window of the robotics agencies, in the United States in particular, who are developing some extraordinary technology. It highlights important engineering and operational limitations, human fears and hopes, and the successes of robotic technology in this current century; it is after all a sober and moving analysis.
