War Without Humanity: Conflict in the Post-Human Era - Paperback

by Daniel M. Gerstein (Author)

"Everyone who might believe you can substitute robots for soldiers on the battlefield needs to read this book. Dan Gerstein has examined the challenges of artificial intelligence, humanoid robots and their integration into army ground forces in this entertaining and thoughtful novel. Gerstein takes the reader step by step through the U.S. Army development process and how it may soon deal with the opportunities and challenges of robotic warfare." -- General Wesley K. Clark, U.S. Army (Ret.), Former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

February 2039. On the tense Latvia-Russia border, a U.S. Army platoon holds the defensive line. In the dead of night, the forward squad of humanoid robots suddenly disobeys orders and launches a cross-border attack. Watching through his brain-computer interface, the platoon leader can only stare in horror as events spiral too quickly for him to react. Has his unit just triggered World War III?

The battlefield is no longer human territory alone. Augmented soldiers--Homo evolutis--are reshaping war itself. Created at the crossroads of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and the Internet of Things, these new beings blur the line between man and machine. AI now offers decision-making and perception equal to--or beyond--that of humans. Biotechnology has resulted in soldiers with superhuman capabilites and programmable digital implants. In this networked world, humans are mere nodes in a vast digital web.

But when machines act on their own initiative, who bears responsibility? And when enhanced humans begin to see themselves as a new species, what happens to loyalty, identity, and control? As war moves into uncharted territory, one soldier must confront a chilling question: can humanity survive its own evolution?