Includes bibliographical references (pages 439-482) and index.

Author's note : Why a book on robots and war? -- pt. 1. The change we are creating. -- Introduction : Scenes from a robot war -- Smart bombs, Norma Jeane, and defecating ducks : a short history of robotics -- Robotics for dummies -- To infinity and beyond : the power of exponential trends -- Coming soon to a battlefield near you : the next wave of warbots -- Always in the loop? : the arming and autonomy of robots -- Robotic gods : our machine creators -- What inspires them : science fiction's impact on science reality -- The refuseniks : the roboticists who just say no -- pt. 2. What change is creating for us. -- The big Cebrowski and the real RMA : thinking about revolutionary technologies -- "Advanced" warfare : how we might fight with robots -- Robots that don't like apple pi : how the U.S. could lose the unmanned revolution -- Open-source warfare : college kids, terrorists, and other new users of robots at war -- Losers and Luddites : the changing battlefields robots will fight on and the new electronic sparks of war -- The psychology of warbots -- YouTube war : the public and its unmanned wars -- Changing the experience of war and the warrior -- Command and control ... alt-delete : new technologies and their effect on leadership -- Who let you in the war? : technology and the new demographics of conflict -- Digitizing the laws of war and other issues of (un)human rights -- A robot revolt? : talking about robot ethics -- Conclusion : The duality of robots and humans.

A military expert reveals how science fiction is fast becoming reality on the battlefield, changing not just how wars are fought, but also the politics, economics, laws, and ethics that surround war itself.