What does the army of the future look like?
Summary
The one-minute advert depicts a dystopian future where a robotic soldier scouts out the terrain of a conflict zone. In fact, back in 2020 Chief of the Defence Staff, Gen Sir Nick Carter, said that robot soldiers could form an integral part of the British Army by the 2030s, according to The Guardian. A report by PwC found that 30% of jobs in Britain were potentially under threat from breakthroughs such as AI, robotics and other forms of smart automation. The end of the ad shows the robot soldier transforming into a human solider after asking, “What does the army of the future look like?”. On Sky News, Colonel Nick Mackenzie, Assistant Director Recruiting, said that the idea behind the campaign was to “dispel one of the many myths that surround the British Army.” He added: “We want to tell future recruits that no matter what technological advancements we make, it is the judgement, intelligence and even the wit of our soldiers that is indispensable to the future of the Army.” In The Independent, Richard Holroyd, Managing Director of Capita Defence, Fire and Security, said: “While we live more of our lives online and increasingly in augmented realities, it’s easy to believe that the future of any armed force is now about mass robotic units managed by unfeeling AI.