Virtual Anthropologists

Interesting article from the Danger Room over at Wired.

Sounds like something I wouldn't approve of.

Given all the problems the Pentagon has faced recruiting anthropologists to work with the military, it may have finally hit upon an easier solution: create computerized virtual anthropologists to replace flesh and blood human beings. In a new request for research proposals aimed at small businesses, the Pentagon says it wants technology that would “enable accurate forecasting of a given populations’ potential responses to military relevant events…”

While not outright suggested as a replacement for the controversy-plagued Human Terrain System, which sends anthropologists into the field with the military, the new request for proposals does say this tool would be “used to facilitate or to replicate wholly or in part many of the tasks that a human anthropological consultation would provide such as, counter-insurgency, reconstruction or support operations, allowing faster and more accurate development of social-cultural behaviors.”

Not like we've never seen military devices used (abused) in use against the private citizenry. I'm sure when the ONE gets his national health-care database online and forces everyone into it, then they add the RealID data on top, and the terrorist watch list and any other number of databases into this mess that they won't end up with something so broken that we'll all be in jail.

Never happen. Nope. Couldn't happen.