Dr James Johnson just announced a new forthcoming volume that presents a human-centric exploration of synthesizing man and machine in future conflict.
About the book:
What does AI mean for the role of humans in war? The AI Commander addresses the largely neglected question of how the fusion of machines into the war machine will affect the human condition of warfare. The book emphasizes the "mind" (both human and machine) and the mechanisms of thought (intelligence, consciousness, emotion, memory, experience, etc.) to consider the effects of AI and autonomy on the human condition of war. The AI Commander investigates the vexing and misunderstood - and sometimes contradictory - ethical, moral, and normative implications, whether incremental, transformative, or revolutionary, of synthesizing man and machine in future algorithmic warfare – or AI-enabled centaur warfighting. At the heart of these questions is whether we are inevitably moving toward a situation in which AI-enabled autonomous weapons will make strategic decisions in place of humans and thus become the owners of those decisions. Can AI-powered systems replace human commanders? And, more importantly, should they?
The AI Commander argues that AI cannot just be passive and neutral force multipliers of human cognition. Instead, the book argues that they will likely become – either by conscious choice or inadvertently – strategic actors in war. AI will transform the role and nature of human warfare, but not necessarily in the ways most observers expect.
Reviews:
"Johnson's The AI Commander is an essential addition to the discourse on AI and national security. Johnson offers masterful insights into human-machine integration and the ethical-political dilemmas of AI-enabled warfare" – Lieutenant General Jack Shanahan, inaugural Director of Project Maven and the U.S. Department of Defense Joint AI Center.
"The AI Commander provides a much-needed human-centric take on the moral and ethical dilemmas of AI-enabled war" – Paul Scharre, Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at CNAS.
"A must-read for policymakers, military strategists, and researchers in the field of responsible military AI" – Lieutenant General R.S Panwar, Colonel Commandant of the Corps of Signals, Indian Army.
"Johnson has produced an excellent study of how rapid technological change is transforming the role of human commanders in warfare" – Andrew Futter, University of Leicester.
The e-book will soon be available through Oxford Scholarship Online (free access for students and staff). For review copies, please complete this form: https://global.oup.com/academic/press/review-copy