Picture a world where humans no longer fight wars. No more families missing loved ones. No more veterans with lifelong mental and physical scars. No more conscription.
For the super-secret End of War Project inside the United States government, such a reality is already here. The project models out how artificial intelligence can overcome dangerous and morally sensitive war scenarios with algorithms and automation. The centerpieces are "autonomous combat machines," or ACMs, that look like humans but function like supercomputers.
After a string of brilliant successes in the field of combat, the End of War Project is preparing to reveal itself to the public, but something unusual stands in the way. Against their programming, the ACMs start exhibiting all-too-human signs of apprehension, guilt and compassion as they're pushed to perform ever more extreme tasks.
The human leaders of the End of War Project race to find who "hacked" the ACMs, but what they find is even more startling--and revealing--than they could ever imagine.
Much more than a story of military action and adventure, THE END OF WAR is set in the near-future and explores how filtering real-world consequences through technology can cause humans to lose their humanity. Think Twitter flame wars, but with actual wars. By licensing the horrors of war to artificial intelligence, will humans push themselves closer to self-destruction than ever before?
Author Bio: Benjamin Sobieck is a Wattpad Star, a two-time Watty award winner, and the editor of The Writer's Guide to Wattpad (Penguin Random House/Writer's Digest Books). He's also the founder and president of Writer's Block Coffee® ().
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
