Israel is currently testing a new prototype armored vehicle that uses a wide range of modern technology, especially an Xbox controller that allows soldiers to perform combat functions as if they were playing a video game.
According to The Washington PostThe tank was developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), which used feedback from active Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldiers and teenage civilians to develop a family system for younger generations. In addition to the Xbox controller, the prototype also features large tablets to display information that would be common to any modern first-person shooter, such as a map, ammunition supplies, and available weaponry.
“It’s not exactly like playing Fortnitebut something like that and surprisingly they bring their skills to operational effectiveness in no time, “said Israeli battalion commander Colonel Udi Tzur The Washington Post of soldiers who tested the system. “I’ll tell you the truth, I didn’t think it could be reached that fast.”
Meir Shabtai, general manager of IAI robotic systems operations, had a more chilling vision of what soldiers’ familiarity with Xbox controllers can bring to combat: “They know exactly the position of those buttons and can achieve performance. much better with that system. The controller is just the interface, the idea is to present sophisticated technology in a way that they can handle. “
Kotaku He contacted Microsoft for comment, but received no response prior to publication.
The only open conflict Israel is currently in is against the people of Palestine, many of whom are essentially confined to regions that function as outdoor prisons. They cannot travel freely. They are second class citizens. Your protests against these conditions are met overwhelming aggression by the IDF, which even attack children and doctors while violently shutting down dissent. When global organizations like the United Nations take steps to reduce Israel’s human rights abuses, the United States rushes to intervene and block them.
G / O Media may receive a commission
That’s all to say that we shouldn’t make it easier or more comfortable to kill someone. The more we make war like Call of Duty, the most removed humans will be from the act of killing. The monitors and controllers that fill these vehicles serve both as a barrier between the user and outsiders and the armor of the vehicles. In the Carmel tank, we see the perfect encapsulation of concerns raised during previous integrations of game technology with military equipment: arming the inherent desensitization of video games to make young men and women more capable and efficient killers.
As weapons of war have become more sophisticated, so have the ways in which the world’s governments protect soldiers from the psychological reality of taking another human life. By combining this elimination with the familiarity of a video game controller, armies are turning a hobby we love into a de facto training exercise, preparing younger generations to mow down children or fight in the next world war. We should not be used to this; We should be horrified.
.
