SocietyAI glossary
Autonomous weapons
Weapon systems capable of seeking, selecting, and striking a target with little or no human intervention, such as loitering munitions that patrol above an area before diving on their objective. Their rise, accelerated by the war in Ukraine, raises a dizzying question: can a machine decide to kill?
In other words
A bit like an automated speed camera that flashes and fines without any officer validating, except here the penalty is lethal.
Alyriaz articles that mention it
- Anthropic: half of sales go through its rivals
According to Reuters, 47% of Anthropic's sales in 2025 went through Amazon and Google, which are at once its investors, its suppliers and its competitors.
- Are we allowed to refuse to sell?
When a company refuses certain uses of its technology, it wields a power that no one has granted it. We examine the arguments on both sides, and why neither is sufficient.
- The Pentagon opens its AI portal to three million people, and one absence stands out
The US Department of Defense has opened a portal bringing together several AI assistants for three million personnel. We analyse this deployment and the absence of a major provider.
- A fighter jet piloted entirely by AI: the debate moves beyond the military sphere
The US agency DARPA has conducted a test flight of an F-16 fully controlled by AI. We analyse what this trial means for the public debate on delegating decisions.
- Anthropic is preparing an IPO that could break all records
According to Bloomberg, Anthropic could file its IPO documents as early as the end of August, in a deal that would match or exceed the record set by SpaceX. We analyse the figures and what the listing will entail.
- Military AI in 2026: Anduril valued at 61 billion, Palantir at the Pentagon, Ukraine as laboratory
In 2018, conversations about defence were still dominated by the F-35 and the Columbia-class submarines. In 2026, the talk is of Anduril's autonomous drones, Palantir's Maven system, and Shield AI's operations in Ukraine. Defence is shifting from the military-industrial complex to the military-AI complex. Analysis.