Maybe! The military has been adapting their technology to fit the skills that videogames have taught us:
(Military drone) controllers themselves are videogame controllers. They’re just like the ones that you would have with an X-Box or a Playstation. And the reason the military does this is twofold. One, the companies behind them, you know, the Sony’s and Microsoft’s of the world have spent millions of dollars figuring out the exact right way for the little device to sit in your hand, where should you position your fingers, etc., so why not take advantage of that research. But the other part of it is that you have a generation coming in that’s already been trained in their use so they learn very quickly. And, the result is that you’re seeing younger soldiers proved to be more talented at certain roles than much more experienced soldiers.
The Internet has been all a-buzz over last week’s Washington Post story about the newest and best in military drone technology. Previously, Slate opined that the Army’s recent focus on this technology calls for a complete rethink of not only the way we fight wars, but the ideologies surrounding them:
We also need to have a vigorous debate about how best to use robots-we need what is known in the military as “doctrine.” Having the right doctrine can be the difference between winning and losing wars, between committing America to the 21st-century version of either the Maginot Line or the Blitzkrieg. This is not just a matter of tactics in the field but also of personnel and organizational issues. How can we better support the men and women operating this new technology, who may not be in the physical war zone but are experiencing an entirely new type of combat stress?
And, well, they’re right. We do need to take a minute for our our ideology to catch up to our technology.
-Drew Millard