The Opposite Side of the COIN
John Boyd used to preach that “Machines don’t fight wars, people do and they use their minds!”. Which is of course true but sometimes they use their minds to make new machines or use old ones in a novel way. So, as a counterbalance to the frequent discussions here of 4GW, COIN and the mental and moral levels of war, how about some computer wizardry as a change of pace? LOL!
About the Technology in Wartime Conference
“This conference will explore how computer technology is used during war — both for the purposes of combat/defense, as well as for human rights interventions into war-torn regions. Topics will include high tech weapons systems, cyberwarfare, autonomous aircraft, mobile robots, internet surveillance, anonymous communication, and privacy-enhancing technologies that aid human rights workers documenting conditions in war-torn countries and help soldiers communicate their experiences in blogs and e-mail.
Our goal will be to consider the ethical implications of wartime technologies and how these technologies are likely to affect civilization in years to come. Ultimately we want to engage a pressing question of our time: What should socially-responsible computer professionals do in a time of high tech warfare?
The proceedings will be broadcast live on the Web, and the presentations collected in book form online, released under a CC license, and made available to the public and policy makers looking for expert opinions on wartime technology issues during the election year”
Joi Ito is one of the sponsors and the list of confirmed speakers includes Noah Schachtman of WIRED and Bruce Schneier . They could use a few more warriors in their geek and academic heavy mix but it looks like it’s shaping up to be an excellent conference.
Hat tip to Charles Cameron.
January 18th, 2008 at 11:30 pm
Looks to be an interesting conference, with deep water around all of these questions. The danger is that they spend much time re-hashing issues that have been debated for ages, with many of the participants ignorant of the "prior art." To give a bit more context, two poles of the debate might be as follows…
"What should socially-responsible computer professionals do in a time of high tech warfare? "
1. Should they get involved at all?
The Conference can pick up where the Oxford Union finished its debate on 9 February 1933 on the motion "That this House will in no circumstances fight for its King and Country."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_King_and_Country_debate
2. As for "human rights interventions into war-torn regions"… they might debate "Am I my brother’s keeper." As in "what are the merits of neo-colonialism" and "who appointed us God?"
January 19th, 2008 at 3:37 am
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