Opinion: Drones in, humans out

The age of human-piloted fighter aircraft is over, space is the ultimate high ground and the modern frontline warfare is a machine battlefield, according to a recent address by global businessman Elon Musk. The wealthiest individual in the world and American special government employee, with ownership of Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter (X), recently spoke to attendees of the ‘West Point’ United States Military Academy in West Point, New York.

Entitled ‘The Human and The Machine: Leadership on The Emerging Battlefield’, the talk involved his experience and opinions of autonomous systems in military operations, existential risks of artificial intelligence, as well as the intersection of advanced technology and modern warfare.

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