As the conflict between Israel and Hamas extends into its 2nd week , it has become quite clear that the renewed hostilities are markedly unlike that that single that come before . Unlike previous engagements , this war has been characterized by the innovative usance of newfangled engineering science — including rockets that target rockets , unmanned drones , and even social media . give these former precedents , it ’s bonny to say that the means of war have changed yet again — but in a manner that ’s certainly not for the better .
Note : As of this authorship , a ceasefire has been declared between Israel and Gaza , one that take effect today at 19:00 GMT .
In conjunction with the escalating number of rocket onset coming from within Gaza , the first significant act of aggression came from Israel when it assassinated Hamas military question Ahmed Said Khalil al - Jabari on November 14 . On that same day , Avital Leibovich , the outside insistency spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces ( IDF ) sent out the following tweet :
This message — and the medium — made it crystal clear that Israel was n’t going to go about its business organization in the usual style , this fourth dimension using Twitter , Flickr , andYouTubeto both get the Holy Scripture out and to restrain its opponents . TheIDF ’s Twitter accountlater announce that it had initiated a military operation on terror site and leaders in the Gaza Strip , and that :
It ’s obvious that the IDF is using hashtags like#PillarOfDefenseto chassis the conversation and influence the mode information is being disseminated in wartime . Israel knows it ca n’t control information ( unlike the deposed leaders of Egypt and Libya ) , but it ’s trying to at least play a part in take aim the story .
But not everyone sees this development as a confirming thing . Futurist Jamais Cascio worry thatsocial media is being used as an enabler of political violence .
“ Twitter and similar medium had the potential drop to serve a function standardized to the radio stations used to drive the 1990s Ruandan race murder , ” he latterly wrote . Moreover , it ’s not the first prison term we ’ve interpret this form of use of societal media , he argues , and it wo n’t be the last :
Pro - Israel / IDF , pro - Palestine / Hamas , it does n’t matter here : this is a stair fore in what we might term the “ weaponization of social media ” — the use of Twitter and interchangeable platforms as a parallel battlefield , trying not just to direct the global story but to shape the final result of the fight , as well .
And then there ’s the Iron Dome denial shield , what has become a veritable rock star in Israel on account of its ability to knock down incoming rocket . The system , which mechanically calculates the trajectory of incoming projectiles , launches rocket for knock them down before reaching a populated surface area .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxwCYZ6Zhew
It comes as no surprisal that Israel has implemented the system , both because of the on-going threat of rocket attacks from Gaza and elsewhere , and because it has been an early adopter of advanced engineering .
Indeed , as Patrick Lin tell io9 , Israel has long been a leader in technology and was the country who gave the U.S. one of its first modern drones — another tool that is being used in the difference of opinion .
“ Technologies certainly are change both warfare and broader society — though automate defenses such as the Iron Dome really are n’t that new , ” he say us . “ In the U.S. , we ’ve had amply automatize military system for decades , such as the Phalanx CIWS and Aegis Combat System . ”
What ’s new , enjoin Lin , is that only late have we started to worry about ethical , legal , and policy implications of these engineering science , what can only be intensified as weapon become truly self-directed .
Lin , who is the theDirector of Ethics + Emerging Sciences Groupat California Polytechnic State University , is worried that reviewer are missing the bigger scene .
“ New warfare technology will proliferate as history shows they always do , ” he says , “ So whatever reward one side has now will be score out later as adversary also receive the same weapons , and this seems to be a silly , unproductive arms wash . ”
Moreover , indicate Lin , as these seemingly howling technologies get integrated into society and war making , they also make our infrastructure more slight and vulnerable .
“ call up about how annihilative a simple cyberattack can be to military , financial , and other system , ” he says , “ or how riotous a loss of Internet admission or electrical world power would be to your workplace day or society at big . ”
That being tell , he concede that the Iron Dome is an effective Department of Defense — though very expensive . He notes that each Israeli interceptor missile costs about $ 60,000 , compare to the $ 800 rocket fired by Hamas .
As Lin remark , a agile calculation reveals that , at some point , the Iron Dome will be an unsustainable solvent — never mind any proficient exposure with the arrangement itself .
“ Worse , it is a applied science solution to what is a political or human problem : it is a poor substitute for straight diplomacy , which is more enduring and less expensive itinerary , ” he says .
At good , the Iron Dome is a quick - fix that might very well make the problem worse , particularly if it encourages war rather of negotiations .
Like Cascio , Lin is implicated that these Modern technologies , whether they be drones , Iron Domes , or social media channels , are preventing both Israel and Hamas from drive to the root of the job .
If anything , they ’re pass water an horrific berth even bad .
Images : IDF / Flicker , USA Today .
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