Palmer Luckey, the founder of Anduril, claims that the US military has already unlocked the “Pandora’s box” of AI and autonomous weaponry, and that there is no turning back now.
Luckey stated last week at a TED Live event that the United States should instead focus more on creating AI-controlled weapons since, in the case of a future conflict using autonomous systems, China might prevail.
Luckey told the crowd that he wanted them to imagine something. China launches its whole weaponry in the early hours of a huge surprise invasion of Taiwan. Before Taiwan could fire a shot, ballistic missiles descended on command centers, air bases, and other important military installations, neutralizing them.
According to Luckey, it would “become clear” in this scenario that the US lacks the systems necessary to react swiftly enough to repel China. US military analysts are most afraid of this battle not only because of antiquated technology or sluggish decision-making, but also because of our inability to engage in combat due to a lack of platforms and capabilities.
Winning the AI weapons race, he argued, is the greatest way to compete with China.
After founding Oculus, Luckey sold it to Meta for $2 billion. Luckey then established the defense business Anduril in 2017, which builds and manufactures drones and other autonomous weaponry and systems for the US military.
“I’ll get confronted by journalists who say, ‘Oh, well, you know, we shouldn’t open Pandora’s box.'” Luckey spoke. And he tells them that the Pandora’s box was unlocked a long time ago with anti-radiation missiles that target surface air missile launchers.
He went on to say that anti-missile defense systems on certain US Navy vessels are able to “lock on and fire on targets totally autonomously.”
He stated that for decades, we have lived in a world where systems independently carry out our commands. The idea is that you’re asking to push Pandora’s box back in and shut it again, not to keep it from opening.”
