Future Tense Fiction: When Robots Go to War

Slate Technology

Slate

Society & Culture, Technology, History

4.6 • 636 Ratings

🗓️ 27 May 2023

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On this month’s episode of Future Tense Fiction, host Maddie Stone talks to Justina Ireland about her short story “Collateral Damage.” The story follows a group of soldiers deployed alongside TED, the Army’s first self-aware combat drone. TED is relentlessly efficient, quickly outpacing its human counterparts—and leaving them worried for their jobs. But when a wrong call from the clunky robot puts soldiers’ lives at risk, they realize just how hard it is to program for battlefield experience. After the story, Ireland shares how her own time in the military shapes her writing, and why tech dreamed up in D.C. rarely reflects the needs of soldiers on the ground. Guest: Justina Ireland, a veteran and author of books including Dread Nation, Deathless Divide, and Ophie’s Ghosts Story read by Joanne Lichtenstein Podcast production by Tiara Darnell Check out AWS Insiders here: https://link.chtbl.com/awsinsiders?sid=podcast.futuretensefiction Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This is Future Tense Fiction, a podcast featuring stories about how technology could change tomorrow.
0:08.2	I'm Maddie Stone.
0:10.6	Technology is essential to modern warfare and is often deployed in combat with the goal of keeping troops safer.
0:18.3	So, when a billion-dollar combat drone joins a squad, the soldiers should welcome
0:23.4	the help, right? No matter how much I tell myself it's fine, I have the feeling that
0:30.2	this bot is really, really bad news. On today's episode of Future Tense Fiction, we're bringing you a reading of Justina Ireland's
0:40.5	story, collateral damage.
0:42.7	As a veteran herself, Justina knows firsthand how pricey military tech can wind up failing those
0:49.0	who serve.
0:50.2	I don't necessarily think that everything that is given to a soldier is really there to help a soldier.
0:55.0	I think sometimes it's just we put money into a program and that's where it is.
0:59.8	That's all coming up on future tense fiction. Stay with us.
1:06.6	Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs.
1:11.7	Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy customizable themes that let you build your brand.
1:19.3	Marketing tools that get your products out there. Integrated shipping solutions that actually save you time.
1:24.3	From startups to scaleups, online, in person and on the go shopify is made for
1:29.7	entrepreneurs like you sign up for your one dollar a month trial at shopify dot com slash setup
1:35.5	this is future tense fiction i'm mattie stone every monthate's Future Tense partnership with New America and Arizona State University's Center for Science and the Imagination publishes a short story that explores how science and technology will shape our future.
1:56.9	Now, we're bringing some of those stories to you in a podcast that includes a conversation
2:01.6	with the author or an expert in a related field.
2:05.3	There may be no institution that's more connected to emerging technology, in reality and
2:11.0	our collective imagination, than the military.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Slate, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Slate and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.