Artificial Intelligence Coming to Our Aid or Coming for Us? Consequences of Artificial Intelligence Weaponry Stjepan Vrbic As a species, we have always been involved in conflicts. A major part of our resources was spent on this. Recently, many governments have started investing into artificial intelligence as a potential way to gain an edge over their adversaries. What does this mean for modern society and warfare? Generations of warfare First generation warfare runs roughly from the mid 1600s to the mid 1800s. It is warfare of line and column battles. Battles were orderly and constrained to the battlefield. It was brought forth by the centralization of armies, wars are now usually led by nations. Second generation warfare was brought forth by new technology. Heavy artillery and machinery brought forth this change. Military tactics still relied on a rigid chain of command and obedience was more important than initiative. Third generation warfare, unlike the first two was caused by a shift in tactics, not an emerging technology. It is not based on Attrition and raw manpower, rather on speed, tactics and maneuvering. Current technology is already starting to use forms of artificial intelligence in combat. Unmanned drones are an example. However, the main application is in various defense systems where the goal is to remove the human aspect of decision-making and employ AI to make split-second decisions What will further development of AI bring forth? Many respected individuals, experts in the field of AI argue it will bring forth another generation of warfare. The removal of the human factor brings up many ethical and logical issues. When there are no humans pulling the trigger, conflicts could become much more unpredictable and dangerous. On the other hand, giving all this power to something that is not even human may not be so smart. Technology is approaching mind-boggling levels of complexity, however, all that complexity could backfire. And if we are not careful, who knows what might happen.