Investigating the kill cloud: information warfare, autonomous weapons & AI

The “kill chain”—involving the analysis of data by human users of military technologies, the understanding of that data, and human decisions—has fast been replaced by the “kill cloud” that necessitates, allows, and exacerbates increased thirst for domination, violence against distant populations, an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDigital War Vol. 6; no. 1
Main Author Bhila, Ishmael
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2025
Subjects
Cultural and Media Studies
Literature
Media and Communication
Review
Autonomous weapons systems
Kill chain
Surveillance
Algorithmic warfare
Artificial intelligence (AI)
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Summary:The “kill chain”—involving the analysis of data by human users of military technologies, the understanding of that data, and human decisions—has fast been replaced by the “kill cloud” that necessitates, allows, and exacerbates increased thirst for domination, violence against distant populations, and a culture of experimentation with human lives. This commentary reports an interdisciplinary discussion organised by the Disruption Network Lab that brought together whistleblowers, artists, and experts investigating the impact of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies on networked warfare. Exposing the problematics of networked warfare and the kill cloud, their colonial overtones, effects on human subjects in real life, erroneous scientific rationalities, and the (business) practices and logics that enable this algorithmic machinery of violence. The conference took place from the 29th of November to the 1st of December 2024 at the Kunstquartier Bethanien in Berlin, Germany.
ISSN:2662-1975
2662-1983
DOI:10.1057/s42984-025-00101-x