Imagine a group of indignant University students. They are very upset at the ethnic and tribal cleansing in Darfur. They are activists. They want to change the world.
These University students reach out via the internet, they plug into their social networks and the fund raising tools available and raise an astonishing $500,000US. They raise more money than they ever imagined. They start to dream of what they could do with it to protect Darfur.
They consider armed military drones that can be flown from the safety of their University dorm. They explore various possibilities and raise enough interest that they receive a phone call, to their dorm room, from a Military contractor that proposes a deal to purchase drones with the capability they imagine. The university students transfer $500,000 dollars in exchange for the drones via the contractor and start to wage war from the comfort of their dorm rooms. They are skilled aviators, their xbox gaming skills have ensured they are more than qualified for the job. They are champions of Darfur.
You don't have to imagine this situation. It has already happened. Although the University students were talked out of buying into the contract and shown more productive ways to spend their money.
In today's broadcast of Democracy now's War and Peace report Amy Goodman interviews author P.W. Singer about his book Wired for War The Robotics Revolution and 21st Century Conflict. I highly recommend listening to the broadcast and I know I'm on my way to picking up a copy of Singer's book.
Technology is changing the face of war. Privately owned companies leading military technology development, that can be sold to anyone, pose ethical dilemmas. The gap between imagination and technology capability is closing quickly. What do we do when technology and social engineering quickly outpace the imagination of law makers and government? The crowd is getting restless, boundaries and borders are changing. In a global community we may see traditional jurisdictions change. Neighborhoods are no longer confined by distance. We are truly a global community. How do we collaborate, globally, successfully without tying ourselves together so tightly that when one corner of society lights on fire it doesn't spread to the whole bundle? This is happening with major banking institutions, one economic crisis and giants fall. How do we ensure we stay a nimble economic society? I believe how we embrace these concepts in the next century will make or break modern society.
The success lies in the tribe, which is a hot topic at the moment. Just as well sound advice was found within the University students social sphere. What were to happen if they were just a bit more fanatical? How could we prevent xbox gamers waging war funded by internet donations?
What do you think?
P.W. Singer, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the new book Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century. Served as coordinator of the Obama campaign’s defense policy task force. He is also the author of Corporate Warriors and Children at War. -via DemocracyNow.org
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