“War in the age of AI demands new weaponry”, the opinion piece by Eric Schmidt, former chief executive of Google and founding partner of Innovation Endeavors, was certainly an eye-opener (Opinion, FT Weekend, September 21).
“The defence industry is having a moment,” is his opening sentence. Schmidt is clearly of the opinion that providing weaponry for war is a good thing. It definitely is profitable. He talks of “weapon systems that are affordable, attritable and abundant” and says that “many more opportunities are coming for start-ups and defence unicorns.”
Affordable for whom? And at what cost to human life in numerous parts of the world? I was reminded of the Bob Dylan song “Masters of War” from 1963:
You hide in your mansion
While the young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud
Ciarán Folan
An Spidéal, County Galway, Ireland
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