The Phalanx is a missile defense system used on naval ships to counter enemy fire. It is nicknamed “R2-D2” after the famous Star Wars droid.
In October, the White House issued "Preparing for the Future of Artificial Intelligence," a report compiled after a series of national workshops was organized to address the potential benefits and dangers of our growing use of AI. Lethal autonomous weapon systems (LAWs) are a focal point of a conversation which also continues to spark international debate. Are depictions of killer robots in films such as The Terminator really that far-fetched? Should we fear the development of weapons that can make decisions, or are these fears based more on science fiction than fact? In this OMNIA podcast episode we speak with Michael Horowitz, associate professor of political science and the associate director of Penn’s Perry World House. Horowitz first became interested in next-generation defense tools during a fellowship year at the Pentagon and has written and spoken extensively on military applications of AI. In 2015 he addressed a United Nations assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, dedicated to emerging issues related to autonomous weapons technologies.
Related Stories
2024 Year in Review
As the calendar flips to 2025, we look back at a few of the dozens of stories we had the privilege of sharing this past year.
Archaeological Science, Hands On
The Center for the Analysis of Archaeological Materials, a joint endeavor between Penn Arts & Sciences and the Penn Museum, celebrates 10 years of teaching students how to interpret the past in an interdisciplinary context.
A First-of-its-Kind Master’s Program for Police Leaders
The new graduate degree from the Department of Criminology and the College of Liberal & Professional Studies will begin next fall. It aims to teach evidence-based research to foster more equitable practices.