What We Are Reading Today: ‘A, Automation, and War’

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What We Are Reading Today: ‘A, Automation, and War’

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  • King explains that military commanders, enabled by the data processing power of AI, will be able to see the battlespace at a previously unattainable depth, fidelity, and speed

Author: Anthony King

Is AI about to automate war? Will autonomous drone swarms and killer robots controlled by AI dominate the battlespace and determine the winner? In “AI, Automation, and War,” Anthony King debunks this science fiction–tinged narrative of AI’s military potential, exploring instead the actual applications of AI by the armed forces over the last decade.

He finds that AI is not going to replace human commanders and combatants; the machines are not about to take over. Rather, the military has used, and will continue to use, AI to process data at a scale and speed that exceeds the capacity of humans. AI will be used primarily to improve military understanding and intelligence.

King explains that military commanders, enabled by the data processing power of AI, will be able to see the battlespace at a previously unattainable depth, fidelity, and speed.

AI will help the armed forces plan, target, and conduct cyber operations faster and more effectively.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Designing San Francisco’ by Alison Isenberg

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Designing San Francisco’ by Alison Isenberg
Updated 05 September 2025

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Designing San Francisco’ by Alison Isenberg

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Designing San Francisco’ by Alison Isenberg

“Designing San Francisco” is the untold story of the formative postwar decades when US cities took their modern shape amid clashing visions of the future. In this pathbreaking and richly illustrated book, Alison Isenberg shifts the focus from architects and city planners—those most often hailed in histories of urban development and design—to the unsung artists, activists, and others who played pivotal roles in rebuilding San Francisco between the 1940s and the 1970s.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The First King of England’ by David Woodman

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The First King of England’ by David Woodman
Updated 03 September 2025

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The First King of England’ by David Woodman

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The First King of England’ by David Woodman

“The First King of England” is a foundational biography of Æthelstan (d. 939), the early medieval king whose territorial conquests and shrewd statesmanship united the peoples, languages, and cultures that would come to be known as the “Kingdom of the English.”

In this panoramic work, David Woodman blends masterful storytelling with the latest scholarship to paint a multifaceted portrait of this immensely important but neglected figure, a man celebrated in his day as much for his benevolence, piety, and love of learning as he was for his ambitious reign.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘Bugwatching’ by Eric R. Eaton

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Bugwatching’ by Eric R. Eaton
Updated 02 September 2025

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Bugwatching’ by Eric R. Eaton

What We Are Reading Today: ‘Bugwatching’ by Eric R. Eaton

Insects are the most abundant wildlife on the planet—but also the least observed. This incisive field companion highlights the basic tools for watching insects with all of our senses, covers some best habitats and circumstances for seeing the most diversity, and shares tips for attracting desirable insects to your yard and garden. 

With wonderful illustrations by Samantha Gallagher, “Bugwatching” explains why this rewarding activity is for everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender identity, level of affluence, ability, or disability.


What We Are Reading Today: Scars and Stripes by Eugene Red McDaniel

What We Are Reading Today: Scars and Stripes by Eugene Red McDaniel
Updated 01 September 2025

What We Are Reading Today: Scars and Stripes by Eugene Red McDaniel

What We Are Reading Today: Scars and Stripes by Eugene Red McDaniel

“Scars and Stripes” shows us how wars leave a legacy of human suffering. It’s hard to describe Eugene Red McDaniel’s struggle in enduring the horrors of being one of the most brutalized prisoners of war.

When his plane was shot down over the skies of Vietnam, McDaniel would be captured and spend six agonizing years as an inmate in Hanoi Hilton. 

His captors used barbaric and sadistic torture techniques on him, but McDaniel remained a source of hope and strength for his fellow prisoners by clinging to his faith in even the darkest of hours. 

In this book, a whole new generation of Americans will come to understand the power of prayer, belief, and devotion to God had in sustaining McDaniel during his six years as an inmate in Vietnam.


What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Organic Line’ by Irene V. Small

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Organic Line’ by Irene V. Small
Updated 31 August 2025

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Organic Line’ by Irene V. Small

What We Are Reading Today: ‘The Organic Line’ by Irene V. Small

What would it mean to treat an interval of space as a line, thus drawing an empty void into a constellation of art and meaning-laden things? In this book, Irene Small elucidates the signal discovery of the Brazilian artist Lygia Clark in 1954: a fissure of space between material elements that Clark called “the organic line.”

For much of the history of art, Clark’s discovery, much like the organic line, has escaped legibility. 

Once recognized, however, the line has seismic repercussions for rethinking foundational concepts such as mark, limit, surface, and edge.