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Author of ‘Wired for War’ will sign books following his talk
Peter W. Singer, author of “Wired for War: The Robotics Revolution and Conflict in the 21st Century,” will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 28 in room 104 of Kirby Hall of Civil Rights. He will autograph copies of his book following his talk, which is open to the public free of charge.
Singer is the director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative and a senior fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution. His research focuses on three core issues: the future of war, current U.S. defense needs and future priorities, and the future of the U.S. defense system.
According to Singer, an amazing revolution is taking place on the battlefield, changing not just how wars are fought but also the politics, economics, laws and ethics that surround war. He says remote-controlled drones and unmanned systems that are now in use in Afghanistan and Iraq are leading to planes that can be flown into battle from 10,000 miles away, making human fighter pilots obsolete. Singer argues that this emerging technology will make wars easier to start and the traditional moral and psychological barriers to killing will fall.
His talk is sponsored by Lafayette’s policy studies program. For more information, call (610) 330-5921.
Singer is the author of two other books. “Children at War” (2005) explored the rise of child soldier groups. It won the 2006 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Book of the Year Award and led to an A&E/History Channel documentary, “Child Warrior.” His first book, “Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry” (2003) pioneered the study of private companies providing military services for hire, an issue that been important with the use of these companies in Iraq.
Singer received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and his B.A. from Princeton University.