What is ubiwar?

Ubiwar is a blog about war, technology and the future (broadly speaking).

In more detail?…

ubique ū-bī’kwē (L) adv everywhere

war wör, n a state of conflict; any kind of active hostility or contention between living beings, or of conflict between opposing forces or principles

Ubiwar as a noun is a conflation of the two words above, and is inspired directly by Mark Weiser’s concept of ubiquitous computing, or ubicomp. Ubicomp has been developed and extended significantly since Weiser’s 1980s work at Xerox PARC and might roughly be described as follows:

Ubiquitous computing is roughly the opposite of virtual reality. Where virtual reality puts people inside a computer-generated world, ubiquitous computing forces the computer to live out here in the world with people. Virtual reality is primarily a horse power problem; ubiquitous computing is a very difficult integration of human factors, computer science, engineering, and social sciences. [link]

Where proponents of a Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), information warfare enthusiasts and advocates of netwar, cyberwar, etc, have gone slightly awry is in their over-reliance on hardware in warfare - the ‘horse power problem’ alluded to above. Other theorists like John Robb and John Boyd understand the power of networks, and even the US military is coming to terms with the importance of human networks, with the publication of FM3-24 and the implementation of the Human Terrain System.

The use of the internet as a means to advertise, organise, proselytise and radicalise is well-documented in the context of the current global jihadist insurgency, as it is with less international actors in Iraq, Afghanistan and many other places besides. The internet currently represents our best example of a global virtual environment, extending beyond ‘traditional’ global media and social systems in both scope and content. It is also an evolving phenomenon. In particular, we can not tell how its use will develop, nor whether other technologies will arise and perhaps die.

For the foreseeable future we can be sure that information technology will become increasingly ubiquitous, that the digital divide will slowly close, and that people will increasingly use what we currently understand as virtual means to communicate and act. How technology will affect or facilitate those interested in committing violent acts (whether physical or psychological) is unknown.

Ubiwar posits that as technology becomes ubiquitous, the means available to people - which may eventually include all of us - will increase and diversify, even if the means may not be particularly technologically sophisticated, at least at the user level. What I am interested in is how technology affects people such that they have the potential to become vectors for real and perceived violence and also agents in its propagation and commission. Of particular relevance to this blog is how modes of warfare move to exploit technological niches, real and virtual, especially if these have yet to fully develop or be conceived of.