Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century,   ISBN:9780143116844

Customer Rating: 

He's a stylish and amusing writer with nothing to say. The book is a collection of anecdotes and opinions about the direction of robotics and war. Even a person with moderate literacy who regular reads the news would already know 98% of what he puts in the book.

Worse, his book is full of logical and factual errors, as well as puffery concerning the people he thinks are important. To be honest, none change the conclusion (again, an obvious one), but the vast number will annoy those who understand the issue and incorrectly educate someone who's not familiar with the topics.

One example is the often abused concept of exponential progress. Even Moore said his law can't continue for long in chip design, but Singer just briefly mentions that and then contradicts it with some very far off possibilities from early IBM and other corporate research.

He also quotes the Patent Office without discussing the fact that the organization now accepts patents for a myriad of things that were never envisioned and for which there are serious discussions of the applicability of patent law. That the Office liberalized the granting of patents is more of a reason for the growth in patents is completely ignored.

Then there's the typical nonsense about the changes we're going through. He seems to miss the difference between evolutionary and revolutionary change. The telegraph was revolutionary. It was a completely new concept in how people could communicate over long distances. Every since, from the land line phone, to the internet, to satellite phones, are evolutionary, they just change how we access the same technology. Inventing a smaller phone is not shocking, seeing your first phone is.

He's also so enamored of modern technology that, while making fun of other pop culture, he bows to techie pop. For instance, Ray Kurzweil is very smart and invented some useful things. However, his views of the future aren't the least bit novel. One example: The claim the Cold war would end. I was attending a conservative public university in the early 80s and did some work for a sociology professor. She said the Soviet military couldn't handle its own infrastructure and that the USSR couldn't afford to continue funding it for long. She wasn't the only one. That Ray can read the opinions of others and agree doesn't make him a guru.

Speaking of that, he also ignores how slowly modern technology is being adapted. There are numerous places in the world that not only lack phones and the internet, but running water, vaccinations and other items some of the world has had for centuries. That's even in the time of "instant communications". That the wheel took 3,000 years to become standard in a world of foot travel isn't surprising, and the pace of modern technology spread isn't the speed of light.

This is a poor book that will turn off knowledgeable people and fool those who don't understand what's happening. The only thing that almost saves it is the author's humorous and light writing style. Unfortunately, the constant references to Harry Potter, Paris Hilton and other pop culture phenomenon might bring a chuckle, but they do nothing to help accurately present what's happening in the subject he purports to cover.

Customer Rating: 

P.W. Singer's work is always interesting. This book is no exception--it offers enormous insights into the robotics revolution in the military, the use of drones, unmanned vehicles, etc. Singer details both the current use and function of this technology and charts a course of where the robots might go in the next 20-30 years. He argues that insufficient attention is paid to the ways in which robotics reshapes warfare. The book lays out an impressive panorama showcasing the breadth of robotic technology, the actors, the companies that make robots, the government agencies that finance research into robotics, the science fiction writers that inspire it and most importantly the current and future uses on the battlefield. The first part of the book makes the argument that robotics is the most important and game-changing shift in contemporary warfare. The second part looks at some of the consequences and implications for war and society.

If robotics is still in its infancy and if it follows the trajectory of other technological changes (automobile, computer), in 20-25 years, there will be robots that are thousands if not millions of times more powerful than the ones today. Despite assurances by the military and robotic makers that humans will always be "in the loop," it is very likely that robotic systems will be given more and more autonomy over the next years

While perhaps a bit too techy and geeky for some readers, the book should be required reading for anyone who is interested in where military technology is going and what the wars of the future might look like.

This book is eminently readable (more so than Corporate Soldiers), and at times it is perhaps even too readable. There are many anecdotes and asides, some more interesting and pertinent than others. It's a long book and could certainly have been cut down by about 20-25% by a good editor. Some chapters--on the role of science fiction in robotics--seem unpersuasive and unnecessary to the core argument.

Customer Rating: 

This book is just the right mix of technology, people, and politics to give someone outside the military robotics industry an understanding of the players in this rapidly changing landscape. The historical view of trends in robotics lays the foundation for the trends predicted by the author. If I can say so this is a "fun read" for a very serious subject. The author has a very effective way of wrapping detailed technology information in a story format that simply sticks in your memory.

Customer Rating: 

The day I finished reading "Wired for War" there was an article in Florida Today about a controversial Predator drone strike in Pakistan. Dr. Singer's book provides excellent moral structure for the discussion of the dilemmas associated with the use of autonomous robots in combat which we are approaching rapidly.

As a retired army colonel who worked in BMD, Nuclear Weapons, and Field Artillery during the 1950's through the 1980's I am very familiar with the R&D that provided the framework for the current "state-of-the-art" in robotics. I was fascinated by many of the names dropped by Singer, since they were friends, co-workers, and previous bosses of mine. His research has been thorough, detailed, and accurate. He adds humor, personal insight and humanity to what might have been cold and analytical recital of facts and history.

Finally I was left with the serious question: When the combination of "Artificial Intelligence(AI)" and "Expert Systems(ES)" allows machines to become self-aware and develope egos and ids will they have all of our failings and find humans no longer necessary? That has interested "Sci-Fi" writers for a long time but the next generation may find it to be science fact.

Customer Rating: 

The title of Wired for War is a little misleading. The author explores the issue of technology and robots on our society more broadly than only war. This book is a good primer for modern technology with an emphasis on robots.