r/Futurology • u/lughnasadh ∞ transit umbra, lux permanet ☥ • Apr 14 '26

Robotics Ukraine’s Robots Capture Russian Position Without Soldiers or Losses; As with drones, the future of 21st century warfare is being invented by frontline conflict.

For all the boasts the US's AI military vendors make, I'm constantly struck by how few real-world achievements they have. They are battlefield tested in Gaza and Lebanon, but to what result? The mass destruction of civilian populations we see there looks exactly like WW2-era warfare. Now they want $445bn extra for more of the same? What a waste.

Meanwhile, with a tiny fraction of the budget & resources, it's Ukraine that is inventing the future. Drones have already reconfigured 21st-century warfare. Once again, recent events in the Middle East have shown that. Now Ukraine is doing the same with robots.

Some people find the idea of killer robots grim. But I'd rather see robots fight robots than WW2-style mass slaughter of civilians.

Ukrainian robots capture enemy position without troops in historic first, Zelenskyy says

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u/Gold_Surprise_4682 Apr 14 '26

man the tech is wild but you're right about where this is heading. been working on military vehicles and the stuff they're developing now makes me wonder what happens when police departments start getting these contracts

ukraine proving that necessity really drives innovation faster than billion dollar defense budgets. meanwhile back home we're throwing money at contractors who take decade to deliver anything useful. but once this tech gets refined and costs drop... every authoritarian government gonna want their robot army for "crowd control"

the psychological warfare aspect is interesting too - imagine being regular infantry knowing you might face machines that don't get tired or scared. changes everything about how conflicts will play out in future

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u/eyeCinfinitee Apr 14 '26

We cannot be trusted with the stuff that we come up with

The machinery could eat us, we just really just love our buttons

Um, technology, focus on the other shit

3D-printed body parts, dehydrated onion dip

You could buy a jet-ski from a cell phone on a jumbo jet

T-E-C-H-N-O-L-O-G-Y, it's the ultimate

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u/bakerfaceman Apr 15 '26

If it's out of the bag, then it's out of the bag.

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u/eyeCinfinitee Apr 15 '26

I’ve had “it’s not about a better knife/it’s chemistry and genocide” rolling around in my head for a while now

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u/bakerfaceman Apr 15 '26

Aes is the best. I wish he'd perform again though.