Fully automating warfare with robots and drones could change escalation dynamics: states might destroy each other's expensive hardware without human casualties, making de-escalation easy (both sides 'go home'), so an AI arms race would create risks but the trigger for actually employing the weapons would have to be something relatively specific rather than the mere loss of machines.

forecastpending

Speaker

Gregory Smith

Evidence Quote

I shoot down your robot, you shoot down my robot. We all go home at the end of the day ... both sides are very unhappy that they lost $6 million in equipment, but no one died

Source

A New Cold War, Rise of China and Global Chaos: How AI Will Rewrite Geopolitics | Gregory SmithDecoding Geopolitics Podcast with Dominik Presl
Created: 6/18/2026, 2:32:07 PM

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