Product Description

We are just beginning to see a massive shift in military technology that threatens to make the stuff of I, Robot and the Terminator all too real. More then seven thousand robotic systems are now in Iraq. Pilots in Nevada are remotely killing terrorists in Afghanistan. Scientists are debating just how smart - and how lethal - to make their current robotic prototypes. And many of the most renowned science fiction authors are secretly consulting for the Pentagon on the next generation. Blending historic evidence with interviews from the field, Singer vividly shows that as these technologies multiply, they will have profound effects on the front lines as well as on the politics back home. Moving humans off the battlefield makes wars easier to start, but more complex to fight. Replacing men with machines may save some lives, but will lower the morale and psychological barriers to killing. The "warrior ethos", which has long defined soldiers' identity, will erode, as will the laws of war that have governed military conflict for generations. While his analysis is unnerving, there's an irresistible gee-whiz quality to the innovations Singer uncovers. Wired for War travels from Iraq to see these robots in combat to the latter-day "skunk works" in America's suburbia, where tomorrow's technologies of war are quietly being designed. In Singer's hands, the future of war is as fascinating as it is frightening.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #107278 in Books
• Published on: 2009-08-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 512 pages

About the Author
Dr Singer is considered one the world's leading experts on changes in 21st century warfare. He has written for the full range of major media and journals, including Boston Globe, L.A. Times, New Times, amongst many others. He is also the author of Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry and Children at War. He is also a founder and organizer of the US-Islamic World Forum, a global conference that brings together leaders from across the US and the Muslim world.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating insight into robotics in the military
Bought the book after seeing a presentation on the web by the author back in April.

The books starts of by introducing some of the main players, talks about some of technological improvements. Later chapters feature the active use of robots and UAVs with theatres of war like Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the psychological effects of using technology both for the people operating the technology and those on the receiving end.

The author has spoken to people right across the board from university professors, to senior military officers to grunts on the ground and even people on the receiving end living in places like Palistinian 'Occupied Territories'.

Makes fascinating reading and would interest anyone who likes guns, robots, science fiction or all of the above.