Book Review: AI, Automation, and War – A Sociological Rebuttal to Killer Robot Narratives
By
Hammad Waleed
Summary
Anthony King's book "AI, Automation, and War: The Rise of a Military-Tech Complex" offers a sociological revisionist perspective on AI in warfare, challenging dystopian narratives of autonomous killer robots and algorithmic commanders. King, a War Studies professor at the University of Exeter, argues that human institutions and organizational structures remain central to military affairs, even as AI transforms warfare. The book critically examines the emerging military-tech complex and provides an empirically grounded, theoretically sophisticated counterpoint to alarmist visions of fully autonomous warfare.
Source
bskyBook Review: AI, Automation, and War – A Sociological Rebuttal to Killer Robot Narrativesstratheia.comKey quotes
· 3 pulledThe book 'AI, Automation, and War: The Rise of a Military-Tech Complex' is, at its core, a work of sociological revisionism directed at one of the most consequential debates in contemporary strategic studies.
Against the dystopian visions of killer robot swarms, algorithmic commanders, and machines making lethal autonomous decisions, King has assembled a case that is empirically grounded, theoretically sophisticated, and politically...
Anthony King holds the Chair of War Studies at the University of Exeter, where he currently serves as Director of the Strategy and Security Institute.
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