Sunday, November 29, 2015

Using Smartphones To Wage War

A U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant Uses An Army Issued Smartphone To Pull Up A Map For Afghan Villagers United States Army via Wikimedia

Paul Scharre, National Interest: The Smartphone Wars are Coming

Information technology tools will transform the operating environment for U.S. forces in significant ways, ushering in an era of radical transparency, connectivity, and atomization of conflict. Can America's military adapt?

We are living today in the midst of the greatest democratization of information since the invention of the printing press. Smartphones transform any person into a citizen reporter, the leader of a digitally-enabled smart mob, or the spark of a new viral movement. Information technology connects people and empowers. This technology (literally) in the hands of everyday people is changing the operating environment in profound ways for U.S. military forces, creating a world of radical transparency, connectivity, and atomization of conflict.

WNU Editor: There are limits to this technology in a full scale war .... such as what happens when one side makes the decision to bomb the cell towers .... or a country decides to shut off the internet.

No comments: