Here’s a warm blanket for you to nestle into this weekend. The Washington Post has been running an investigative report on the U.S. military’s shadow wars throughout the Horn of Africa. These special operations have become the preserve of hulking, so-called “hunter killer” unmanned aerial vehicles like the Predator and Reaper. And a choice nugget from the final installment to the Post’s three-part series sheds a chilling new light on the implications of entrusting ever-sharpening technologies to carry out warfare’s dirty work.According to a declassified drone incident report cited by the Post, here’s what allegedly went down at a remote drone base in March 2011:…a Predator parked at the camp started its engine without any human direction, even though the ignition had been turned off and the fuel lines closed. Technicians concluded that a software bug had infected the “brains” of the drone, but never pinpointed the problem. “After that whole starting-itself incident, we were fairly wary of the aircraft and watched it pretty closely,” an unnamed Air Force squadron commander testified to an investigative board, according to a transcript. “Right now, I still think the software is not good.”Well, then.Of course, making mountains from what appears to be an isolated event would be foolish. We shouldn’t rush to pin this as the the full-on HAL-ization of military kill toys. But that’s still some voodoo shit, no? Just in time for our yearly observance of ancient pagan harvest festivals.Reach this writer at brian@motherboard.tv. @thebanderson
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