# Autonomous Warfare **Entity class:** Military concept **Domain:** Defense / Autonomous systems **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition Autonomous warfare uses machines capable of sensing, navigating, coordinating, selecting actions, or operating with reduced real-time human control in military environments. ## Mechanism and significance Autonomy exists on a spectrum, and the most consequential boundary concerns whether machines can select and engage lethal targets without meaningful human judgment. ## Relationships - **Research dossier:** [[research/ASI and RSI Timeline Research Moonshots|ASI and RSI Timeline Research Moonshots]] - **Ontology route:** [[ASI and RSI Timeline Ontology#Autonomous Warfare and Strategic Systems|Autonomous Warfare and Strategic Systems]] - **Primary fields:** [[Autonomous Weapons]] · [[AI Superpower]] · [[Machine Succession]] - **Adjacent concepts:** [[Emil Michael]] · [[Newt Gingrich]] · [[Software-Defined Warfare]] · [[Human-in-the-Loop Lethal Decision]] ## Sources and provenance - [[research/ASI and RSI Timeline Research Moonshots|ASI and RSI Timeline Research Moonshots]] — immediate source for this node's role in the broadcast research map. ## Evidence boundary The research dossier establishes why this entity or concept belongs in the Moonshots ontology. Time-sensitive organizational, product, policy, and performance claims should be checked against the linked primary source or a current authoritative source before reuse as settled fact.