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U.S. Army Testing Robots, Drones and AI Technology

The new battlefield, more deadly, perhaps less bloody.

The fear of artificial intelligence (AI) in the commercial world is that it will take away jobs from people. Apply robotics and AI to the battlefield, and that might be one of the best things that ever happened. Fewer human soldiers means less "cannon fodder" if you are familiar with the term.

See this article, AI & Robots Crush Foes In Army Wargame. This one wargame and test doesn't spell total success since it points out the need to change tactics as the technology evolves. The military will also need to decide at what point to take the giant leap and begin to implement new technology. The mini-drones pictured in the article would be terrific for an infantryman looking for the enemy, as in trying to identify where a machine gun bunker is located. 

What does it all mean for us in emergency management? Like those things developed for NASA and now applied in the civilian world, we can have a much faster development and adoption sequence at a hugely reduced cost. 

Maybe an IT degree might be appropriate for some emergency managers.

Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.