{"id":284,"date":"2025-04-04T05:44:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T05:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/?p=284"},"modified":"2025-04-04T06:33:54","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T06:33:54","slug":"the-slaughterbots-are-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/?p=284","title":{"rendered":"The slaughterbots are here."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AHqIUDZBRM4\">Dune<\/a>, a fiction novel released nearly sixty years ago, the brutally exploitative tech-enabled Harkonnen use remotely-piloted kamikaze drones, &#8220;Hunter-Seekers,&#8221; to conduct assassinations of their political enemies. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>More than a decade ago, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/05\/16\/technology\/16drones.html\">the advent of ArduPilot<\/a> brought quadcopters and drones in general from the cutting edge of technology to the hands of hobbyists and consumers. A forum, DIYDrones, hosted tens of thousands of new developers of the technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"735\" height=\"782\" src=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-1.png\" alt=\"In This Sky, the Planes Fly Alone\" class=\"wp-image-287\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-1.png 735w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-1-282x300.png 282w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 735px) 100vw, 735px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">New York Times ArduPilot article <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Only a few years later, in 2015, <a href=\"https:\/\/lite.cnn.com\/2015\/07\/21\/us\/gun-drone-connecticut\/index.html\">a teenager in Connecticut attached a pistol to a quadcopter<\/a> and put the video on YouTube. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Video of Gun-Firing Drone Spurs Investigation\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/FI--wFfipvA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Associated Press video of a gun-firing drone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Two years after that, in 2017, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=O-2tpwW0kmU\">a short sci-fi film titled &#8220;Slaughterbots&#8221;<\/a> was <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Slaughterbots\">released<\/a>. It starts with a keynote presentation about a new, artificial-intelligence-enabled quadcopter featuring facial recognition and a shaped explosive charge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the film, drones are shown attacking a university campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sci-Fi Short Film \u201cSlaughterbots\u201d | DUST\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/O-2tpwW0kmU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">&#8220;Slaughterbots&#8221; sci-fi film from DUST<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2022, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/israel-drone-that-can-fire-a-sniper-rifle-while-flying-developed-2022-1\">Israeli arms contractor, SMARTSHOOTER<\/a>, developed a drone capable of firing a sniper rifle while flying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">SMARTSHOOTER develops state-of-the-art Fire Control Systems for small arms that significantly increase weapon accuracy and lethality when engaging static and moving targets, on the ground and in the air, day and night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">With proven \u201cOne Shot \u2013 One Hit\u201d precision, our SMASH product line empowers defense and security forces by maximizing rifle effectiveness against enemy targets while minimizing friendly casualties and collateral damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Based on Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision and Machine Learning technologies, SMASH is also designed to interconnect with other operational resources to form a micro-tactical network that delivers real-time situational awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\u201cSince 2011, Mor and her partner Avshalom Ehrlich at SMARTSHOOTER have been working to develop an innovative fire control system that significantly increases the accuracy and lethality of small arms. This technology, which accurately engages and eliminates static, moving, ground and air targets in day and night operations, greatly enhances mission effectiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The same year, another Israeli company, ELBIT Systems, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.twz.com\/these-israeli-urban-battlefield-assassin-drones-are-nightmare-fuel\">published details of their LANIUS drone<\/a>. In their video advertisement, they reproduced what was shown in &#8220;<em>Slaughterbots<\/em>,&#8221; showing their LANIUS detaching from another drone, flying into a building, and exploding on a human.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"656\" src=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-5-1024x656.png\" alt=\"LANIUS drone mothership and payloads, ELBIT screenshot\" class=\"wp-image-294\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-5-1024x656.png 1024w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-5-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-5-768x492.png 768w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-5.png 1036w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2023, UAVHE of Barcelona <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/davidhambling\/2023\/08\/07\/flying-sniper-drone-takes-aim\/\">published information<\/a> regarding their development of a drone for long-distance (200 meter range) hog hunting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"864\" height=\"570\" src=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-3.png\" alt=\"UAVHE Baduga Sniper Rifle Turret\" class=\"wp-image-289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-3.png 864w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-3-300x198.png 300w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-3-768x507.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">UAVHE Baduga drone sniper rifle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In April 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.snopes.com\/news\/2024\/04\/30\/idf-sniper-drones-crying\/\">Snopes published an article<\/a> reporting on claims that the Israeli Defense Force had used sniper drones playing recorded audio of crying infants as bait. The article was subtitled, &#8220;<em>[t]he IDF has made use of sniper-gun mounted drones in the Israel-Hamas war.<\/em>&#8221; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In June 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/euromedmonitor.org\/en\/article\/6357\/Gaza:-Israeli-army-expands-its-use-of-quadcopters-to-kill-more-Palestinian-civilians\">a report from the Euro-Med Human Rights Watch<\/a> indicated that the Israeli Defense Force used drones to kill civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/euromedmonitor.org\/en\/article\/6357\/Gaza:-Israeli-army-expands-its-use-of-quadcopters-to-kill-more-Palestinian-civilians\">Israel\u2019s&nbsp;army&nbsp;has&nbsp;released&nbsp;a video&nbsp;documenting its use of these kinds of&nbsp;quadcopter&nbsp;aircraft to drop bombs on&nbsp;groups of people and houses while conducting military operations in the Gaza Strip.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/euromedmonitor.org\/en\/article\/6357\/Gaza:-Israeli-army-expands-its-use-of-quadcopters-to-kill-more-Palestinian-civilians\">Israeli army forces deliberately targeted and executed Silah Muhammad Ahmad Odeh, 52,&nbsp;while&nbsp;she was&nbsp;trying to escape from the Jabalia&nbsp;refugee&nbsp;camp by raising&nbsp;a&nbsp;white flag.&nbsp;Odeh was&nbsp;killed due to&nbsp;direct fire from&nbsp;Israeli&nbsp;quadcopter aircraft&nbsp;on&nbsp;21&nbsp;May,&nbsp;in&nbsp;front of her family.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In November 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/11\/26\/g-s1-35437\/israel-sniper-drones-gaza-eyewitnesses\">National Public Radio reported eyewitness accounts<\/a> that quadcopters equipped by the Israeli Defense Force with projectile weapons were being used to shoot at and kill civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>In one message, she&#8217;s interrupted by the sound of four quick gunshots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Oh, hear that?&#8221; she says casually. &#8220;That&#8217;s the quadcopter. It&#8217;s here most of the time. If I go to the door to get better cell service, the quadcopter starts shooting at me and I have to go back inside. It&#8217;s very dangerous.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>In December 2024, the news erupted with reports of unidentified flying objects across the United States: <a href=\"https:\/\/epic.org\/mass-hysteria-over-drones-flying-in-the-night-sky-it-didnt-have-to-be-this-way\">a drone hysteria.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"899\" height=\"518\" src=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image.png\" alt=\"Google Trends for &quot;drones&quot; between March 31 2024 and 2025, showing a spike around December 15 2024\" class=\"wp-image-286\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image.png 899w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-300x173.png 300w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-768x443.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 899px) 100vw, 899px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Google Trends, &#8220;drones&#8221;, March 31 2024 to March 31 2025<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.avweb.com\/aviation-news\/faa-institutes-22-new-anti-drone-temporary-flight-restrictions\/\">Federal Aviation Administration activated<\/a> several temporary flight restrictions, or TFRs, around the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"643\" src=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-2-1024x643.png\" alt=\"Temporary Flight Restriction map from December 2024\" class=\"wp-image-288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-2-1024x643.png 1024w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-2-300x188.png 300w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-2-768x482.png 768w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-2.png 1105w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">TFRs circa December 2024<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>In February 2025, a report was released by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor indicating extensive use of weaponized quadcopters in Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/euromedmonitor.org\/en\/article\/6166\/Gaza\">Another victim, Muhammad Diab Abdel Qader Barhoum, was shot and killed by a quadcopter drone on 4 February, just before noon, as he was heading to the town of Al-Nasr, north of Rafah City, to feed his sheep. Euro-Med Monitor also stated that four more Palestinians, including two children, were killed on 21 January when quadcopter planes opened fire on Al-Aqsa University, which houses thousands of displaced people, west of Khan Yunis.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Between 2004 and 2020, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebureauinvestigates.com\/blog\/2020-09-04\/ten-years-investigating-us-covert-warfare\">a report by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism<\/a>, drone strikes conducted abroad by the United States resulted in between 8,858 and 16,901 deaths. Of these deaths, between 283 and 454 were children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"435\" src=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-4-1024x435.png\" alt=\"8,858-16,901 deaths, of which 283-454 were children\" class=\"wp-image-290\" srcset=\"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-4-1024x435.png 1024w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-4-300x127.png 300w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-4-768x326.png 768w, https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/image-4.png 1260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bureau of Investigative Journalism infographic<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>From <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2024\/11\/26\/g-s1-35437\/israel-sniper-drones-gaza-eyewitnesses\">NPR<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;We&#8217;re reaching a point where there is increasingly diminished human oversight over the practice of killing in war, and also the decision-making process around who lives or dies,&#8221; says James Rogers, an expert on drone warfare and emerging technologies at Cornell University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">&#8220;No matter how precise your weapon systems are,&#8221; he says, &#8220;if your intelligence is wrong, then all that precision, that guaranteed destruction of the target, means is the guaranteed death of the wrong person.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In Dune, a fiction novel released nearly sixty years ago, the brutally exploitative tech-enabled Harkonnen use remotely-piloted kamikaze drones, &#8220;Hunter-Seekers,&#8221; to conduct assassinations of their political enemies. More than a decade ago, the advent of ArduPilot brought quadcopters and drones in general from the cutting edge of technology to the hands of hobbyists and consumers. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[15],"class_list":["post-284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-posterity","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=284"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":299,"href":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions\/299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulhansel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}