Kerong Kelly
Staff Writer
On Sept. 24 in Trout Auditorium, Peter Warren Singer, senior fellow at The Brookings Institute, discussed the impact technology has had on how the United States wages war as part of the University’s ongoing series “Tech/No.”
Singer is the director of the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence at the Brookings Institute, as well as the author of the recent book “Wired for War, ” which examines the effect technology and robotics has played in 21st century politics, war, and law. He graduated from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and received his PhD from Harvard University.
Entitled “NextWar: Trends and Technology Shaping the 21st-century Battlefield,” Singer’s talk focused on how technology has impacted both international diplomacy and domestic politics.
Singer highlighted the reasons why the United States has not declared war since 1942 and how it can be attributed to an increase in technology while the economic and financial incentives have been on a steady decline.
Singer’s research is primarily focused on the issues of the future of war, the current U.S. defense situation, and the future of U.S. defense. He is also an expert in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.
“I think we’ve seen it [technology] play an incredibly disruptive role to the established powers,” Singer said.
In addition to his work on many government projects, Singer’s has also worked closely with the video game Call of Duty.
“Both the Pentagon and the Call of Duty series were interested in what kind of technology will dominate in the future, what the conflicts will be about, who will be the key actors fighting,” Singer said.