AI Warfare Is Here Now, Not Someday: Security Expert Speaks at Cameron University

A national security expert brought a blunt message to Cameron University last Thursday: the age of AI warfare isn’t a future scenario. It’s the current one. Paul Scharre, executive vice president of the Center for a New American Security, spoke as part of the university’s academic festival, themed“Being Human in the Age of AI,”and pointed to real conflicts where autonomous systems are already in play.

Ukraine uses roughly four million drones a year, including first-person view drones with built-in autonomy that can lock onto a target and maneuver an airstrike after a human pilot selects it. Scharre said AI systems are already playing roles in Gaza and the wars in Ukraine and Iran. Meanwhile, world leaders have discussed autonomous weapons at the United Nations for more than a decade without agreeing on regulation, beyond the broad principle that the laws of war apply.

For Lawton, a town anchored by Fort Sill, the questions Scharre raised hit close to home. Should humans make life-or-death decisions in war, or machines? Who is accountable when an autonomous system strikes? The full report comes from Eric Swanson at The Lawton Constitution and SWOK News. Where do you stand on human control of autonomous weapons? Let us know in the comments.