War Virtually - The Quest to Automate Conflict, Militarize Data, Predict Future

"González's War Virtually expertly covers an incredible breadth of nuanced topics, from US policy on autonomous weapons to the Pentagon's relationship with Silicon Valley and the militarization of anthropology. Each chapter's subject warrants a book in its own right, but González has provided concise overviews that carefully navigate the zoo of defense contractors and their acronyms."—Jack Poulson, Co-founder and Executive Director of Tech Inquiry

"A deeply researched reflection on the latest dark, hubristic dreams of a multitude of US planners using big data to wage war. González asks, 'What could go wrong?' And the answer, he discovers, is plenty."—Catherine Lutz, author of Homefront: A Military City and the American 20th Century

"González is one of our foremost analysts, and critics, of military uses of social science. Here he breaks new ground in an account of the military's fusion of artificial intelligence, data science, and social science that is both captivating and frightening as he gives us a glimpse of our dystopian future of data-driven warfare. Written in the style of the best science journalism, this book is hard to put down."—Hugh Gusterson, author of Drone: Remote Control Warfare

"A richly informative guide to the enrollment of behavioral sciences and digital tech in an American agenda of data-driven dominance. The tour includes key sites in the contemporary military-commercial-academic complex devoted to projects from psychological operations and soldier augmentation to robotic weapons and predictive modeling, along with vital pathways to resistance."—Lucy Suchman, Professor Emerita, Anthropology of Science and Technology, Lancaster University

About the author

Roberto J. González is Professor of Anthropology at San José State University. He has authored several books including Militarizing Culture: Essays on the Warfare State and American Counterinsurgency: Human Science and the Human Terrain.

Product details

• Authors: Roberto J. Gonzalez, Roberto J. González
• Publisher: University Of California Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 26.03.2024
• EAN: 9780520402171
• ISBN: 978-0-520-40217-1
• No. of pages: 270
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Pre and early history; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; USA, HISTORY / Military / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Intelligence & Espionage, Anthropology, military history, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General, HISTORY / Military / United States, Social issues & processes, United States of America, USA, Espionage & secret services, Ethical issues & debates, Espionage and secret services, Ethical issues and debates, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Privacy & Surveillance, Control, privacy and safety in society