Editor,
As the world faces rapid changes from Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, their impact is clear in conflicts around Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East. Unmanned systems have increased challenges for Air Forces, with command and control often managed by drones and loitering munitions. A recent Wall Street Journal article, ‘Can AI and Drones Replace Soldiers and Jets?’, questions whether greater reliance on high-tech military systems could remove the human element from warfare.
In Meghalaya’s Northeast, the education system is not keeping pace with current geopolitical realities. Growing frustration among youth, as reported by Northeast Live in ‘Meghalaya Police Confirms Insurgent Groups’ Recruitment Drive’, suggests that neglecting local grievances may lead to unrest. This underscores the need for effective leadership to address both technological change and social challenges.
Dr. David Kilcullen, a former soldier, strategist, and diplomat, is a foremost expert on guerrilla warfare, terrorism, urbanisation, and the future of conflict. In his book Out of the Mountains: The Coming Age of the Urban Guerrilla, he predicts that a range of Indian population hubs will become magnets of megacities and that by 2050, urban areas will house approximately 75 per cent of the world’s population.
This brings us to a pressing question: Are we truly ready to confront the next wave of security threats unleashed by AI, robotics, and rapid urbanisation? The future may belong to nimble, tech-savvy teams wielding swarming tactics and cyber-kinetic strikes that can bring entire infrastructures to their knees. To navigate both the promise and peril of these changes, we must respond with vision and resolve.
Christopher Gatphoh,
Laitkor Rngi
Shillong
Via e-mail
