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Mixing up Humans and Military Technology

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Abstract

Machines and humans share a long history. Humans are toolmakers but in the process of tool making humans also bring forth new versions of them selves. So man defines technology, but technology also defines man. The distinction between men and machines is nearly nonexistent. Military technology often was a forerunner for civil applications, although lately off the shelves technology is applied in the armed forces. Technological determinism often serves as the myth that covers up power relations, and that myth should be debunked, but augmented technology now approaches the point of singularity, meaning that smart machines make even smarter machines. This implies a whole different role for human agency. Are smart augmented soldiers (drones, cyborgs and kill bots) taking over?

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Correspondence to René Moelker .

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Moelker, R., Schenk, N. (2018). Mixing up Humans and Military Technology. In: Caforio, G., Nuciari, M. (eds) Handbook of the Sociology of the Military. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71602-2_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71602-2_23

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-71600-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-71602-2

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