Sci-Fi Short Film “Slaughterbots” [video] (2017)
Wikipedia has additional context and analysis on the short feature and its impacts:  &lt;<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Slaughterbots" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Slaughterbots</a>&gt;<p>The project&#x27;s website is at &lt;<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;autonomousweapons.org" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;autonomousweapons.org</a>&gt;<p>And subsequent developments in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine since the film was released in 2017 show how the concepts illustrated are being realised in real-world conflicts, highlighting both capabilities and limitations of the concept, though I&#x27;d strongly suggest that the full potential has yet to be realised.<p>One interesting distinction is between the nature of <i>precisely targetable</i> weapons as with the slaughterbots, and stochastic ranged weapons, which date back to at least WWII and the long-range but only loosely-targeted attacks via V-1 &quot;buzz bomb&quot; and V-2 rocket bombs, or more recently through cheap and inaccurate rockets such as the Qassam used heavily by Hamas (see: &lt;<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2021&#x2F;05&#x2F;13&#x2F;world&#x2F;middleeast&#x2F;gaza-rockets-hamas-israel.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2021&#x2F;05&#x2F;13&#x2F;world&#x2F;middleeast&#x2F;gaza-roc...</a>&gt;), or the Russian S-8KL (see: &lt;<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.newsweek.com&#x2F;russia-cluster-bombs-dumb-rocket-s8kl-rockets-1820504" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.newsweek.com&#x2F;russia-cluster-bombs-dumb-rocket-s8...</a>&gt;).<p>Precision is useful against specific military targets or civilian leadership.  Stochastic attacks have long been used against general populations or forces, though the morale effects may well backfire unless the lethality is truly overwhelming.<p>The questions raised in the video about countermeasures and the consequences for use-of-force are interesting and I&#x27;d very much like to see further discussion of those topics if anyone is aware of any.