Weapons acceleration can abolish human political decision in favor of automation
Evidence
As Paul Virilio observes, these measures are in large part about “the preservation of a properly ‘human’ political power, since the constant progress of rapidity threatens to reduce the warning time for nuclear war to less than one fatal minute—thus finally abolishing the head of state’s power of reflection and decision in favor of a pure and simple automation of defense systems.” — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration, 17
Categorization
- QUESTION: Virilio quote worth chasing — his fuller argument about dromology and how speed abolishes deliberative power.
- XREF: connects to: Machines need not be intelligent or sinisterly designed to enslave us — Yanis Varoufakis, Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism, 277; Acceleration functions as a strategy immunizing global power from democratic steering — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration: A New Theory of…, 597; Analyzing weapons’ mechanics reveals the political form they impose on action (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- Velocity is deliberately weaponized to outpace democratic awareness and freeze resistance
#corroborates(0.90) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 1092 - Acceleration functions as a strategy immunizing global power from democratic steering
#corroborates(0.88) — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration, 597 - Autonomous armed robots can select and destroy targets without human control
#exemplifies(0.85) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 472 - Social acceleration itself erodes the preconditions for democratic self-steering
#corroborates(0.80) — Hartmut Rosa, Social Acceleration, 442 - Analyzing weapons’ mechanics reveals the political form they impose on action
#expands(0.75)