Episode 49 - Targeting at Machine Speed
This week on Prosthetic Gods, Nir and J speak with Major Michael Brodka, a U.S. Army military intelligence officer and author of the July 2026 Military Review article “By Algorithm or Order.” Major Brodka argues that the U.S. Army's human-paced targeting doctrine is dangerously misaligned with the rapid emergence of machine-speed, AI-enabled warfare being pursued by adversaries like China and Russia. It asserts that to close this critical "velocity gap," the military must reform its doctrines, organizations, and training to integrate lethal autonomous weapon systems under lawful human-on-the-loop control.
“By Algorithm or Order” Michael Brodka
DoD Directive 3000.09: Autonomy in Weapon Systems
Department of Defense Law of War Manual
Field Manual (FM) 3-60:Army Targeting
2023 DoD Data, Analytics, and Artificial Intelligence Adoption Strategy
As always, listeners can contact us at prostheticgods@gmail.com with questions, comments, and suggestions for future topics.
Credits:
Hosted by James Hughes and Nir Eisikovits
Music & Production by Jake Burley