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A video game that kills real people
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by Rob Peters | July 28, 2008 at 02:37 pm
1113 views | 11 Recommendations | 11 comments
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There are already more than 1,000 unmanned aircrafts in combat, drones that U.S. pilots fly from Nevada. Pilots use a console that is based on the XBox processor and resembles a PlayStation. It's a lot like the video games the pilots probably played growing up.
The technology saves lives, but is there too much of an emotional disconnect from the consequences of war when one side doesn't have to be anywhere near the fight?
The guy in the knit shirt leans back in his leather chair, his hand wrapped around the joystick. On the console display, two plane-shaped icons show the available ammo. As the target vehicle crosses his screen, he squeezes the red button. The car vanishes in a fireball.
I'm watching this scene in a demonstration video on my home PC. My 7-year-old son, who's watching it with me, knows all about computer games. "It went down on this car, and it made a big explosion!" he tells my wife. "It was really cool."
But this is no game. This is the real thing. It's called the Universal Control System. It directs aerial military drones. Raytheon, a high-tech defense contractor, exhibited the system last week at an air show in Britain. It looks and feels like a video game. But it kills real people.
Drones are the future of warfare. Through them, we can hunt enemies abroad at no risk to ourselves. They're perfect for post-Iraq missions, sparing us the difficulties of an official troop presence in foreign hot spots. We're already flying more than 1,000 of them in combat. The big ones hunt and kill. Go ahead, shoot at them. You can't hurt the pilots. The pilots are in Nevada.
If you've seen combat in the flesh, you know what the fireball on the screen means to the people in the car. But to a teenager raised on Doom and Halo, it looks like just another score. He can't feel or smell the explosion. He isn't even there. The eeriest thing in the demo video is the total silence that accompanies the car's destruction. The only sound that follows is the pilot's triumphant verdict: "Excellent job." It's like something you'd read on the screen after getting a high score at an arcade.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (11)
at 14:52 on July 28th, 2008
I read somewhere that when the first aerial bombers were used by Britain to police its colonies during the early twentieth century, people were appreciative, thinking the mechanized power of planes would prevent loss of life in future wars. People today see drones in similar terms:
Source: slate.com
at 15:00 on July 28th, 2008
wow... its kinda sad that the millitary has resorted to this kind of sdvertisement to get the future generations to join the millitary because it just like the video game they played when they were little... that is so sad!!! And yes drones are the future of warfare thank you for pointing that out because i never really thought of it like that.
at 21:12 on July 28th, 2008
Back in the 80's, when I was addicted to Space Invaders, I predicted that the military would before long be able to make great use of not only the technology, but the skill of the game-player. A few years later I read an article in the Reader's Digest about how the military was looking for enlistees who had good computer games skills!
I'm glad whenever we don't have to put someone directly on the line. On the other hand, to punch a few keys on a console and unload a missile is, indeed remote. But I don't think that those who take on these jobs are disconnected. I think they know it's real, and react to the emotions, privately.
at 21:12 on July 28th, 2008
Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 21:24 on July 28th, 2008
Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff.
Star trek! With out the Noble prime directive of non interference though!
at 21:35 on July 28th, 2008
Though this is not really a funny situation, it reminds me of, The Far Side (I think thats the one), where the parents are dreaming of looking through the classifieds for Video Gamer jobs for their son. Much funnier when Gary Larson tells it. Seems ironic now.
It is amazing how far warfare has progressed in such a short period of time. In all reality, itss the hope of each country to protect its own soldiers from unnecessary danger. I don't quite subscribe to the idea that drone operators are any more detached. These are not kids picked up playing games at the local electronics store. They are trained military men and women who know what kinda of destruction and power they hold. Many people grew up playing videos games and they still can tell the difference between a video game and video of drone attacks. If someone can't, then they haven't matured enough to be in military service and that is where the term liability comes into play.
Nice Article.
at 21:46 on July 28th, 2008
The safest place to be in a War today, would be to be in the Army and not a Civilian!
at 07:10 on July 29th, 2008
Paschen , How would it be safe if Army are always in the face of death?Im not aware cuz Im a woman not exposed to any battle..
at 00:42 on July 29th, 2008
Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff. you are right paschen, but what a sorry state of affairs. a technological advancement for killing more people more efficiently is nothing to be proud of.
at 07:11 on July 29th, 2008
Rob Peters, I like this story. It's good stuff. Interesting and I learnt much on this...
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Dysanovicat 14:36 on July 29th, 2008
The UAVs they had at the Farnborough Airshow 2008 were a glimpse of the future; their futuristic looks really did stand out from the other conventional aircraft on display.
Dysanovic has contributed a photo to this story.