A Changing World Order

The global geopolitcal landscape is undergoing rapid shifts. The rearming of major powers—USA, China, Russia—has reinforced nationalistic agendas. Liberalism in strategic industries has ended, replaced by policies of mercantilism and protectionism. The wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Syria and tensions in the South China Sea have shown that the world is moving towards a new era of conflict. The West is no longer the undisputed leader in technology and innovation. China has emerged as a formidable competitor and innovator, catching up in AI, electric vehicles, and robotics. While France and Germany face economic recession, with far-right movements threaten the European Union, the future of Europe is uncertain.

The war in Ukraine has redefined modern combat, demonstrating that low-cost, mass-produced drones can overwhelm expensive military hardware. The ability to swarm an adversary and exhaust its defense capabilities is the future of warfare. Nuclear deterrence becomes ineffective against gradual, non-existential territorial encroachments. The next arms race will not be about firepower alone—it will be about intelligence, autonomy, and scalability.

A declining global population means fewer humans willing to fight on the battlefield. Machines must take their place. The nations that master autonomous warfare will dictate the terms of global security. If Europe does not rise to the challenge, it will become a natural target—this is how natural selection works.

Human Inventiveness for New Machines

Humans have always built machines to extend their capabilities. From shaping stones into weapons to constructing microscopes, telescopes, and computing machines, every major leap in civilization has been marked by technological augmentation. The next step is clear: intelligent, autonomous systems must surpass human limitations.

Language enabled us to transmit knowledge across generations, accelerating our dominance over nature. Today, artificial intelligence trained on digitized human knowledge can extract patterns beyond human perception, pushing our evolutionary progress further. This is not just an incremental change—it is a shift in agency, from human-controlled tools to autonomous entities making decisions faster and more optimally than any human could.

A Game Changer: Autonomous Drones

War is about intelligence—who sees first, who reacts faster, who anticipates the next move. Autonomous drones are the culmination of this principle. Unlike traditional military assets, they can operate at scale, in real-time, and without hesitation.

AI-driven war machines will not be limited to direct combat. They will plan logistics, adapt to unpredictable environments, and generate new strategies in real-time. This requires goal-oriented learning rather than human-designed instructions—machines must teach themselves through simulation, adversarial training, and recursive self-improvement. The result: systems that evolve beyond human intuition.

Peace Through Strength

Future wars will not be fought with brute force but with algorithmic precision. Swarming autonomous drones, strategic AI, and self-learning machines will redefine military superiority. We must decide: will we lead this revolution, or will we watch others shape the future while we fade into obsolescence?

The West has historically led through innovation to maintain its strategic advantage. It is now clear that the best way for Europe to avoid conflicts is to show its teeth and strength, so no one dares to go at you. Let him who desires peace prepare for war ("si vis pacem, para bellum", Publius Vegetius, 5th century).

References

• Vegetius. (5th century). De Re Militari (Concerning Military Matters).