May 21, 2023 09:00:00

4 sci-fi ideas governments are eyeing to predict future military threats

Although SF is fiction to the last, sometimes

what was drawn in SF may become reality in the future , so the French Army hired SF writers as ``to prepare for future threats''. sometimes turn their attention to the imagination of sci-fi. Therefore, Mike Ryder , a lecturer at Lancaster University in the UK, introduced ``Four science fiction ideas that the government is looking at to predict future military threats''.

How governments are using science fiction to predict potential threats
https://theconversation.com/how-governments-are-using-science-fiction-to-predict-potential-threats-202877

Sci-fi writers have already predicted several technologies that will become reality in the future. For example, Arthur C. Clarke predicted the future Internet in 1964 , and Isaac Asimov predicted in 1983 that ' we will not be able to live without computers .'

“Sci-fi not only helps us create a future shaped by new technologies, but it also helps us learn lessons about potential threats,” Ryder said. The future will no doubt be reflected in defense research on how to mitigate risk and risk reduction.The future cannot be fully predicted, but to avoid the dystopia that some science fiction suggests, we I hope that leaders and decision makers in the world will learn the lessons suggested by science fiction.' Here are four SF ideas that the government may be considering.

Please note that some science fiction works touch on the core content, so please be careful if you care about spoilers.

◆ 1: Super Soldier
Supersoldiers enhanced by the power of science have appeared in classics such as Robert A. Heinlein 's ' Warriors in Space ' and Joe Holdman 's ' Forever War ', and more recently 'Muscle Augmentation'. Approaches to strengthen soldiers by methods such as `` increasing the number of organs than usual '' are also increasing.

Long a staple of science fiction, super-soldiers have the advantage of being stronger, faster, and more effective than regular soldiers, but at the same time they carry the moral and ethical responsibility. . Some science fiction works such as 'Endless War' have devised an authoritarian system to prepare for soldiers' rebellion, such as blowing up the body if these super soldiers disobey orders. .

◆ 2: Use of drones in war
Drones already play an important role in modern warfare.

It has been reported that drones are being used in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the United States and its allies are also using drones to patrol and kill terrorist suspects.

However, some sci-fi go further and focus on 'gaming warfare using remote weapons such as drones.' For example, in the movie ' Ender's Game ', the main character, who is expected to be an excellent talent, attends a commander training school and participates in various trainings that simulate battles with enemies. However, after the final training is over, it is a scenario that you will be informed that what you were actually doing was not a simulation, but actually fighting the enemy using a remotely controlled army.

Mr. Ryder points out that the contents drawn in 'Ender's Game' are anticipating the problem of war with modern unmanned weapons. “This includes target selection and the moral and ethical issues surrounding remote-controlled killings. These issues will become more acute as drones become more pervasive in everyday civilian life. I will go,' he said.

◆3: Bioengineering
Science fiction isn't just about drones and advanced computers, it's also about the biological sciences and the use of animals in warfare and related humanitarian aid. For example, in

Adrian Tchaikovsky 's ' Dogs of War' , the main character is a dog who undergoes bioengineering and engages in war as a 'war dog (mercenary)'.

Like other science fiction works, War Dogs also raises various ethical and moral questions, such as how humans exploit others and how animals fit into human moral frameworks. About. Various armies have used animals such as military dogs on the battlefield since ancient times. there is. Not only on the battlefield, but also in the rescue of survivors in disaster areas, detection dogs can be in danger, and science fiction gives us hints to think about the ethical issues surrounding the use of animals.

◆ 4: Behavioral change
The idea of using drugs and chemicals in science fiction to distort one's reality and modify behavior has been around for ages. Philip K. Dick is particularly well-known in this field, with works such as ' The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, ' ' Ubik ,' and 'Flow My Tears, Said the Cop .' Also, in the 2005 movie `` Serenity '', it is said that a planet that fell into a miserable situation as a result of drugs being used to control people's behavior was drawn.

The above examples are science fiction, but in fact the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the United States was conducting an experiment ' MK Ultra Project ' to brainwash humans in the 1950s and 1960s. In the MK Ultra project, it has become clear that human subjects were experimented with brainwashing using drugs and electric shocks against human subjects.

“We can only hope that radical and horrific experiments like this are a thing of the past, but the concept of behavior modification is still very much relevant to defense research, though not as much as it was in the middle of the last century,” Ryder said. Indeed, many accuse social media of now being a global battlefield, information warfare a real threat to security, and Russia and China conducting cyber campaigns against the West. He pointed out that methods of reaching out to people through SNS and other means are being used, even if they are not drugs.