Power to the People
How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow's Terrorists
Published on 23. January 2020
Book
Hardback
440 pages
978-0-19-088214-3 (ISBN)
Description
Never before have so many possessed the means to be so lethal. The diffusion of modern technology (robotics, cyber weapons, 3-D printing, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence) to ordinary people has given them access to weapons of mass violence previously monopolized by the state. In recent years, states have attempted to stem the flow of such weapons to individuals and non-state groups, but their efforts are failing.
As Audrey Kurth Cronin explains in Power to the People, what we are seeing now is an exacerbation of an age-old trend. Over the centuries, the most surprising developments in warfare have occurred because of advances in technologies combined with changes in who can use them. Indeed, accessible innovations in destructive force have long driven new patterns of political violence. When Nobel invented dynamite and Kalashnikov designed the AK-47, each inadvertently spurred terrorist and insurgent movements that killed millions and upended the international system.
That history illuminates our own situation, in which emerging technologies are altering society and redistributing power. The twenty-first century "sharing economy" has already disrupted every institution, including the armed forces. New technologies are transforming access to the means of violence. Just as importantly, higher-order functions that previously had been under state military control (mass mobilization, force projection, and systems integration) no longer are. Cronin closes by focusing on how to respond so that we both preserve the benefits of emerging technologies yet reduce the risks. Power is flowing to the people, but the same technologies that empower can imperil global security, unless we act strategically.
As Audrey Kurth Cronin explains in Power to the People, what we are seeing now is an exacerbation of an age-old trend. Over the centuries, the most surprising developments in warfare have occurred because of advances in technologies combined with changes in who can use them. Indeed, accessible innovations in destructive force have long driven new patterns of political violence. When Nobel invented dynamite and Kalashnikov designed the AK-47, each inadvertently spurred terrorist and insurgent movements that killed millions and upended the international system.
That history illuminates our own situation, in which emerging technologies are altering society and redistributing power. The twenty-first century "sharing economy" has already disrupted every institution, including the armed forces. New technologies are transforming access to the means of violence. Just as importantly, higher-order functions that previously had been under state military control (mass mobilization, force projection, and systems integration) no longer are. Cronin closes by focusing on how to respond so that we both preserve the benefits of emerging technologies yet reduce the risks. Power is flowing to the people, but the same technologies that empower can imperil global security, unless we act strategically.
Reviews / Votes
Rather than broadly faulting emergent lethal technologies, [Cronin] makes a very focused and compelling case for attending to the threats posed by open-source 'off-the-shelf' technologies that are affordable and easily operated, and are easily weaponized (3D-printed guns and the arming of inexpensive hobby drones are two relevant examples)... Cronin invites readers to consider specific case studies in which similar emergence, diffusion, and affordability of lethal technology fomented and enabled unanticipated terrorist activity. * Science * In this meticulously researched book, Cronin shows how groups such as the Islamic State (or isis) exploit new technologies such as the Internet, smartphones, autonomous vehicles, and artificialintelligence. * Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 241 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 38 mm
Weight
779 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-088214-3 (9780190882143)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Audrey Kurth Cronin
Power to the People
How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow's Terrorists
E-Book
10/2019
OUP eBook
€9.99
Available for download
Audrey Kurth Cronin
Power to the People
How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow's Terrorists
E-Book
10/2019
OUP eBook
€9.99
Available for download
Person
Audrey Kurth Cronin, one of the world's leading experts on security and terrorism, is currently Professor of International Security and the Founding Director of the Center for Security, Innovation, and New Technology at American University. Previously, she worked as a Specialist in Terrorism at the Congressional Research Service, advising Members of Congress in the aftermath of 9/11. She also held a number of positions in the executive branch, including in the office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Office of the Secretary of the Navy. She is the author of several books, including How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns.
Content
Introduction: The Age of Lethal Empowerment PART ONE: THEORY Chapter 1: Classic Models of Military Innovation: Shaped by the Nuclear Revolution Introduction The Historical Relationship between War and Technology Innovation is Double-Edged The Social Nature of Diffusion Technology is Not Strategy Historical Context Matters Opening Pandora's Box Chapter 2: The Arsenal for Anarchy: When and How Violent Individuals and Groups Innovate Introduction The Historical Relationship between Political Violence and Technology
How Technologies Were Harnessed How Lethal Nonstate Actors Innovate Everett Rogers' Theory of Commercial Diffusion Revisited PART TWO: HISTORY Chapter 3: Dynamite and the Birth of Modern Terrorism Introduction The Advent of Gunpowder Early Explosive Violence from Below Gunpowder Helps Build the Modern World Alfred Nobel's Vision Dynamite Becomes the People's Weapon The Narodnaya Volya and the Killing of the Tsar The Skirmishers and Clan na Gael The International Anarchist Movement Why Dynamite Diffused Chapter 4: How Dynamite Diffused Introduction
Innovation Was Not Driven by the Military The Global Production of Dynamite
Growth Despite Danger
Inexorable Downward Pressure on Price
The Stoking of Discontent The International Anarchist Convention of 1881 and 'Propaganda of the Deed' Dynamite Schools and Pamphlets Anarchist Newspapers and Periodicals Worldwide Mass Market Sensationalism Patterns in Numbers of Attacks
How Global Dynamitings Ended Nobel's Remorse Chapter 5: The Kalashnikov and the Global Wave of Insurgencies Introduction The Evolution of Firearms and the Introduction of the Machine Gun Kalashnikov's Invention of the AK-47 Why the AK-47 Was so Widely Adopted A Humble, Yet Disruptive Innovation Chapter 6: How the Kalashnikov Diffused The Kalashnikov's Debut and Public Demonstration Trading in Kalashnikovs The Diffusion of Kalashnikovs
A Proliferation of Factories The Revolutionary's Weapon of Choice
Back to the USA The Impact on the Power of States Why the Kalashnikov Spread
The Floodgates Opened Kalashnikov's Regret
The Power of Unintended Consequences PART THREE: CONVERGENCE: WIDESPREAD LETHAL EMPOWERMENT Chapter 7: Open Innovation of Mobilization: Social Media and Conquering Digital Terrain Introduction The New Nature of Mobilization New Tools for Old Tactics New Tools Used in New Ways
Boundless Interactivity Mobile Streaming Videos and Live-streaming Quality First-Person Filmmaking Technology
Viral Fake News End-to-End Encryption Hijacking Psychological Tactics
Unintended Consequences Redux Chapter 8: Open Innovation of Reach: From AK-47s to Drones, Robots, Smartphones, and 3-D Printing Introduction Convergent Technologies and Extended Reach The Scope of Unmanned Systems How Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Extend Private Reach Predators, Reapers, Global Hawk: Sustaining Technologies The Pattern of State-to-State Proliferation of UAVs State-to-Group Proliferation of UAVs: Hezbollah and Hamas These Are Not the Drones You're Looking For Terrorist and Insurgent Groups' Lethal UAV Programs Crowd-funded, "Grey Zone," and Private UAV Intelligence Advances in the Works Drones as Missiles Democratized Precision Strike Capability Everyone Manufactures Everything with 3D Printing Individual Flying Devices Lagging Countermeasures Chapter 9: An Army of One Launches Many: Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence
Introduction
A Spectrum of Autonomy
The Perils of Full Artificial Intelligence
The Predictions of Lethal Empowerment Theory
Autonomous Reach
Self-driving Truck Bombs
Hijacking the Internet of Things
Autonomous Swarms
Small Autonomous Killer Robots
Tailored for Terrorism Conclusion: Strategy in an Age of Lethal Empowerment Powerful Economic Incentives for Diffusion
Technological Optimism and a Boom in Tinkering
New Communications Technologies Are Powerful Incentives to Violence
Militaries Are Facing the Innovator's Dilemma
Disruptive Private Armies: The ISIS Precedent
Responding to the Threat
The Profit Motive for Protections
Regulation Is Not Necessarily Strangulation
Building Up National Security
Strategy in an Age of Lethal Empowerment
How Technologies Were Harnessed How Lethal Nonstate Actors Innovate Everett Rogers' Theory of Commercial Diffusion Revisited PART TWO: HISTORY Chapter 3: Dynamite and the Birth of Modern Terrorism Introduction The Advent of Gunpowder Early Explosive Violence from Below Gunpowder Helps Build the Modern World Alfred Nobel's Vision Dynamite Becomes the People's Weapon The Narodnaya Volya and the Killing of the Tsar The Skirmishers and Clan na Gael The International Anarchist Movement Why Dynamite Diffused Chapter 4: How Dynamite Diffused Introduction
Innovation Was Not Driven by the Military The Global Production of Dynamite
Growth Despite Danger
Inexorable Downward Pressure on Price
The Stoking of Discontent The International Anarchist Convention of 1881 and 'Propaganda of the Deed' Dynamite Schools and Pamphlets Anarchist Newspapers and Periodicals Worldwide Mass Market Sensationalism Patterns in Numbers of Attacks
How Global Dynamitings Ended Nobel's Remorse Chapter 5: The Kalashnikov and the Global Wave of Insurgencies Introduction The Evolution of Firearms and the Introduction of the Machine Gun Kalashnikov's Invention of the AK-47 Why the AK-47 Was so Widely Adopted A Humble, Yet Disruptive Innovation Chapter 6: How the Kalashnikov Diffused The Kalashnikov's Debut and Public Demonstration Trading in Kalashnikovs The Diffusion of Kalashnikovs
A Proliferation of Factories The Revolutionary's Weapon of Choice
Back to the USA The Impact on the Power of States Why the Kalashnikov Spread
The Floodgates Opened Kalashnikov's Regret
The Power of Unintended Consequences PART THREE: CONVERGENCE: WIDESPREAD LETHAL EMPOWERMENT Chapter 7: Open Innovation of Mobilization: Social Media and Conquering Digital Terrain Introduction The New Nature of Mobilization New Tools for Old Tactics New Tools Used in New Ways
Boundless Interactivity Mobile Streaming Videos and Live-streaming Quality First-Person Filmmaking Technology
Viral Fake News End-to-End Encryption Hijacking Psychological Tactics
Unintended Consequences Redux Chapter 8: Open Innovation of Reach: From AK-47s to Drones, Robots, Smartphones, and 3-D Printing Introduction Convergent Technologies and Extended Reach The Scope of Unmanned Systems How Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Extend Private Reach Predators, Reapers, Global Hawk: Sustaining Technologies The Pattern of State-to-State Proliferation of UAVs State-to-Group Proliferation of UAVs: Hezbollah and Hamas These Are Not the Drones You're Looking For Terrorist and Insurgent Groups' Lethal UAV Programs Crowd-funded, "Grey Zone," and Private UAV Intelligence Advances in the Works Drones as Missiles Democratized Precision Strike Capability Everyone Manufactures Everything with 3D Printing Individual Flying Devices Lagging Countermeasures Chapter 9: An Army of One Launches Many: Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence
Introduction
A Spectrum of Autonomy
The Perils of Full Artificial Intelligence
The Predictions of Lethal Empowerment Theory
Autonomous Reach
Self-driving Truck Bombs
Hijacking the Internet of Things
Autonomous Swarms
Small Autonomous Killer Robots
Tailored for Terrorism Conclusion: Strategy in an Age of Lethal Empowerment Powerful Economic Incentives for Diffusion
Technological Optimism and a Boom in Tinkering
New Communications Technologies Are Powerful Incentives to Violence
Militaries Are Facing the Innovator's Dilemma
Disruptive Private Armies: The ISIS Precedent
Responding to the Threat
The Profit Motive for Protections
Regulation Is Not Necessarily Strangulation
Building Up National Security
Strategy in an Age of Lethal Empowerment