From ‘super soldiers’ to killer AI drones: how technology will change warfare by the end of the century
Tomorrow’s wars won’t be fought with mushroom clouds, but consultants have predicted devastating cyberattacks caused by “quantum computers”.
Former soldiers and intelligence brokers revealed this grim future to DailyMail.com, highlighting how technological advances will change warfare.
They range from quantum computer systems that are tens of millions of times more efficient than machines currently in use, to robotic exoskeletons capable of giving soldiers superhuman strength and AI-controlled drones that can kill without human intervention.
Using these predictions, DailyMail.com asked AI image generator Midjourney to photograph the future of the battlefield and the applied sciences that can make it a reality.
AR provides soldiers with superhuman senses
Added actuality will give soldiers and pilots “superhuman” feelings
Virtual reality and augmented reality allow soldiers to “see” using drones or robotic cars, and augmented reality “heads-up displays” (HUDs) overlay the view of pilots and soldiers.
Adam Seamons, Head of Information Security at GRC International Group, mentioned: Technologies resembling VR have been used for a few years to train every navy and industrial pilots, as well as various expensive {hardware} resembling armored vehicles and tanks.
Another particularly advanced application may be piloted drone training.
“By combining VR training and AR HUD for drone pilots, these systems will undoubtedly become essential for both the training and operation of military systems in the future.
Much of that technology will be provided by satellites in low-Earth orbit that provide high-speed Internet connections on the battlefield, said Chris Moore, Air Vice Marshal (ret.) and vice president of defense and security at satellite Internet company OneWeb. .
“LEO space-based SATCOM will become a key driver for many new technological advances, such as AR, VR and robotics, which will ultimately increase lethality through more efficient use of force.”
Quantum computer systems can crash the banking system at the push of a button
Quantum computer systems are a brand new arms race, launching cyberattacks that can destroy power grids and banking programs
New “quantum computers” could unleash devastating attacks that would bring down power grids and the world’s banking system, warns Andersen Chen, founder and chairman of Post-Quantum.
READ MORE: US Army report reveals imaginative and forward-thinking deadly ‘machine men’ with infrared imaginations and far-sighted, enhanced power and mind-controlled weapons by 2050
Armies of the future could include half-human, half-machine cyborgs with infrared imagination and farsightedness, ultrasonic listening, and massive power, equipped with mind-controlled weapons.
Instead of ones and zeros, quantum computer systems use qubits, each of which can be identical, providing unprecedented computing power.
Security researchers worry that quantum computer systems could break public key encryption (PKI).
This knowledge has been used to inform everything from banks to the navy.
Quantum computer systems are currently being improved, with IBM showing a mod with more than 400 qubits.
“Quantum computers will be millions of times faster than ‘classical computers’ due to the fact that they use ‘qubits’, which can be one, zero or both at the same time,” Chen said.
“This exponential improvement means that one day we will see a leap in quantum technology, and we need to be ready before it happens, not react afterwards. Also, this is just a survey of publicly available information.
“There is a secret quantum arms race, the exact status of which we do not know.
“With a powerful enough computer running, we won’t see mushroom clouds on the horizon, but we should expect attacks that affect everything from our energy infrastructure to our financial institutions.
Chen says groups apparently linked to China and Russia are already stealing encrypted information to decrypt it once a powerful enough computer is up and running.
Chen said: “Any data that may still be sensitive after 5-15 years and not protected by quantum-safe standards may already be at risk.”
AI will operate fully unmanned fighter jets
Artificial intelligence will pilot deadly drones that can go rogue, making them unstoppable on human instruction
According to former MI6 agent and creator Carlton King, synthetic intelligence will operate the drone attack aircraft.
The benefits of using machine learning to tune attack ships could be very tempting for fleet managers.
“The moment you start teaching machine learning to independent robots, you start to lose control. The temptation is to say, ‘Let the robot do everything,'” King said.
King also said pilots in the U.S. and Britain are currently flying drones, but military leaders may be tempted to take humans out of the equation.
“Obviously there’s going to be a movement to get that pilot off the ground because their reactions may not be fast enough, and if it’s in the hands of artificial intelligence, those reactions are much faster. and make that decision: shoot or not shoot,” he continued.
Biotechnology and nanotechnology will “enhance” soldiers
Nanotechnology could potentially be used to “enhance” soldiers sooner or later, turning them into unstoppable killing machines
Soldiers could potentially be enhanced with biotechnology and even nanotechnology in the long term, using applied sciences that allow soldiers to survive battlefield accidents, said Pablo Ballarín Usieto, cybersecurity advisor and member of ISACA’s New Trends Working Group:
Biotechnology and nanotechnology offer alternatives to increase the effectiveness of soldiers, improve battlefield medical care, and possibly even new types of weapons.
Usieto mentioned, “New technologies are already involved in fighting wars, but they can significantly affect current conflicts in a number of ways. All these examples raise different concerns, whether they are ethical, legal or humanitarian.
“It is important to ensure that they are designed and used in a way that minimizes harm to civilians and respects international humanitarian law and standards.”
Robot exoskeletons will fight alongside androids
Human soldiers can also enter nearly indestructible exoskeletons that act as body armor
Soldiers will use robotic exoskeletons alongside fully autonomous combat drones, Usieto continued.
Gen. Robert Cohn predicted that a quarter of the US military could be robotic by 2030, making the fleet smaller, ultra-lethal, ultra-deployable and ultra-agile.
“The use of robots and autonomous systems (unmanned ground vehicles, robotic exoskeletons and even autonomous combat systems) in warfare can reduce the risk to human soldiers and increase battlefield capabilities,” Usieto said.
