War Without Humanity
Conflict in the Post-Human Era
Published on 31. March 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
336 pages
978-1-63624-658-1 (ISBN)
Description
February 2039. On the tense Latvia-Russia border, a U.S. Army platoon holds the defensive line. In the dead of night, the forward squad of humanoid robots suddenly disobeys orders and launches a cross-border attack. Watching through his brain-computer interface, the platoon leader can only stare in horror as events spiral too quickly for him to react. Has his unit just triggered World War III?
The battlefield is no longer human territory alone. Augmented soldiers-Homo evolutis-are reshaping war itself. Created at the crossroads of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and the Internet of Things, these new beings blur the line between man and machine. AI now offers decision-making and perception equal to-or beyond-that of humans. Biotechnology has resulted in soldiers with superhuman capabilites and programmable digital implants. In this networked world, humans are mere nodes in a vast digital web.
But when machines act on their own initiative, who bears responsibility? And when enhanced humans begin to see themselves as a new species, what happens to loyalty, identity, and control? As war moves into uncharted territory, one soldier must confront a chilling question: can humanity survive its own evolution?
The battlefield is no longer human territory alone. Augmented soldiers-Homo evolutis-are reshaping war itself. Created at the crossroads of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and the Internet of Things, these new beings blur the line between man and machine. AI now offers decision-making and perception equal to-or beyond-that of humans. Biotechnology has resulted in soldiers with superhuman capabilites and programmable digital implants. In this networked world, humans are mere nodes in a vast digital web.
But when machines act on their own initiative, who bears responsibility? And when enhanced humans begin to see themselves as a new species, what happens to loyalty, identity, and control? As war moves into uncharted territory, one soldier must confront a chilling question: can humanity survive its own evolution?
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
424 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-63624-658-1 (9781636246581)
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
Person
Daniel Gerstein is a security and defense expert, technologist and author. He has held senior positions in uniform, as a senior government civilian, in industry, in think tanks and in academia. During his service in the U.S. Army, he served on four continents while participating in combat, peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, counterterrorism, and homeland security and served for more than a decade in the Pentagon in various high-level staff assignments. At the Department of Homeland Security, he served as Under Secretary (Acting) and Deputy Under Secretary in the Science and Technology Directorate. Dr. Gerstein also has extensive experience in international negotiations, having served on the Holbrooke Delegation that negotiated the peace settlement in Bosnia. He is also an Adjunct Professor at American University in Washington, D.C. and George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. He graduated from the United States Military Academy and has master's degrees from Georgia Tech, the National Defense University and the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College, and a PhD in Biodefense from George Mason University. He serves as a member of several corporate boards and advisory committees.
Content
Prologue
Chapter 1. Transhumanism and Augmented Humanity
Chapter 2. Towards a Transhuman Future Force
Chapter 3. Surprises Occur at the Most Unlikely Times
Chapter 4. Envisioning a Transhuman Military Force
Chapter 5. You Built It, Now What?
Chapter 6. The Test: Exercising the Transhuman Force
Chapter 7. The Road to War
Chapter 8. Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better
Chapter 9. Seeing the Elephant
Chapter 10. The Future Is Not Foretold, It is Created
Epilogue-Relearning the History of Warfare
Chapter 1. Transhumanism and Augmented Humanity
Chapter 2. Towards a Transhuman Future Force
Chapter 3. Surprises Occur at the Most Unlikely Times
Chapter 4. Envisioning a Transhuman Military Force
Chapter 5. You Built It, Now What?
Chapter 6. The Test: Exercising the Transhuman Force
Chapter 7. The Road to War
Chapter 8. Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better
Chapter 9. Seeing the Elephant
Chapter 10. The Future Is Not Foretold, It is Created
Epilogue-Relearning the History of Warfare