Description
Book SynopsisA critical look at how the US military is weaponizing technology and data for new kinds of warfareand why we must resist. War Virtually is the story of how scientists, programmers, and engineers are racing to develop data-driven technologies for fighting virtual wars, both at home and abroad. In this landmark book, Roberto J. González gives us a lucid and gripping account of what lies behind the autonomous weapons, robotic systems, predictive modeling software, advanced surveillance programs, and psyops techniques that are transforming the nature of military conflict. González, a cultural anthropologist, takes a critical approach to the techno-utopian view of these advancements and their dubious promise of a less deadly and more efficient warfare. With clear, accessible prose, this book exposes the high-tech underpinnings of contemporary military operationsand the cultural assumptions they're built on. Chapters cover automated battlefield robotics; social scientists'involvement in e
Trade Review"The topics addressed by Roberto González in
War Virtually ought to concern us all." * Science *
"González shows how surveillance thrives less on the machinations of evil men than on the pedestrian facts of political economy. . . . He scaffolds his analysis with character sketches of the social scientists, career generals, and Silicon Valley CEOs driving the development of virtual warfare." * Boston Review *
"
War Virtually overall paints the picture of a strong entanglement between the Defense Department and Silicon Valley. . . The details reveal the absurdity and megalomania that characterize aspects of virtual war. . . . A great piece of well-founded scholarship." * Public Anthropologist *
"War Virtually is a well-written and carefully researched work of activist social science aimed at describing and diagnosing the pathologies of military-driven datafication dreams. Both specialist and lay readers will gain a better appreciation of these often-invisible aspects of the militarization of American society." * Contemporary Sociology *
"A chilling view of where warfare and security are headed. . . . There is nothing cute or gee-whiz or cool about the terrifying forms of emergent warfare and data technologies that González expertly details and analyzes in
War Virtually." * Current Anthropology *
Table of ContentsContents
List of Illustrations
List of Terms and Abbreviations
1. War Virtually
2. Requiem for a Robot
3. Pentagon West
4. The Dark Arts
5. Juggernaut
6. Precogs, Inc.
7. Postdata
Acknowledgments
Appendix: Sub-rosa Research
Notes
References
Index
