How is AI changing modern warfare? And are we already entering the age of autonomous war?
Shane Smith and VICE News travel to Morocco for African Lion 2026 — one of the largest military exercises in the world — to get an inside look at the technologies rapidly transforming the battlefield.
From AI-assisted targeting systems and autonomous combat vehicles to suicide drones, robotics, quantum computing, and next-generation military communications, Shane embeds with U.S. AFRICOM and the young soldiers building the future of warfare in real time.
In this episode of Shane Smith Has Questions, Shane speaks with General Davin R.M. Anderson, Commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and 1st Lt. Vincent Gasparri, Innovation Team Lead 173rd Airborne Brigade, who leads a new generation of military innovators developing drone systems inspired by lessons from Ukraine, Iran, and modern asymmetric warfare.
The conversations explore:
– AI on the battlefield
– Autonomous weapons systems
– Drone warfare and counter-drone tech
– Robotics and future combat
– Quantum computing and encryption
– The ethics of AI warfare
– Terror threats in Africa
– How Ukraine changed military strategy
– The future of the U.S. military
As wars become increasingly automated, Shane asks the question everyone is thinking:
Are we prepared for a future where AI helps run wars?
#AI #Military #Drones #Warfare #ShaneSmith #VICE #Ukraine #Iran #Technology #AFRICOM #Robotics #ArtificialIntelligence #FutureOfWar #Morocco #TanTan #AsymmetricWarfare #AfricanLion2026
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Chapters
0:00 Intro
2:19 1st Lt. Vincent Gasparri on How Autonomous Warfare has Changed the Battlefield
5:19 The Development of Attack Drones
8:54 Access to the Internet on the Battlefield
10:45 How to Defend Against Drone Attacks
12:18 Drones Delivering Cargo on the Battlefield
13:10 How the War in Ukraine has Changed Warfare
15:21 The Importance of AI
17:06 Autonomous Vehicles
18:17 The Dangers of Autonomous Warfare
20:08 How Lt. Gasparri is Improving the Technology
22:13 The Future of Energy in the Battlefield
25:37 Quantum Computing
26:31 What Future Tech Lt. Gasparri is Excited for
30:55 General Dagvin R.M. Anderson on the Biggest Challenges in Africa
32:59 The Future of Warfare
38:56 How Quickly AI is Changing Warfare
41:09 Why Use Autonomous Vehicles in Warfare
43:35 The Importance of Humans Managing AI and Autonomous Vehicles
45:16 Sharing the Technology with Other Nations
45:58 What the Future of Technology Looks like for Gen. Anderson
48:15 The Future of AI and Quantum Computing
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Autonomous Warfare Has Arrived | African Lion 2026 Exclusive with Gen. Anderson & Lt. Gasparri
just wow, Shane with Vice back to good old days and refreshing to see that these young soldiers seriously think about not only modern warfare but also reflect on being just humans and saving lives on the battlefield without being driven by ideologies, hate or stupid politicians. Smart leaders need those young ones to calm down and make good and healthy decisions without blowing up our planet.
We got speed on a video camera… Hilarious
En jullie vinden je nou echt zo geweldig? Ik weet niet of wij het door hebben maar we romantiseren oorlog we gaan er van lachen dit is toch te ziek !!! In wat voor wereld gaan zitten met z’n allen knetter gek
We used to talk about "The Strategic Corporal". Seems it's time to update it to "The Strategic Drone".
Although I can appreciate the fact we are addressing drone warfare and the innovative tactics, approach and application of these methods, but I also think it’s best to keep it to ourselves instead of broadcasting this to our ever watching enemies in the audience
Sky Soldier!!!!
Wonder when those weps are used on We The People of the USA 🤔
Humans are doomed regardless we will destroy each other.
This young man needs a promotion immediately. A Lieutenant giving an interview is strange. This dude is a wizard. Capt as of tomorrow
Мир учится воевать у Украины. Продолжайте слушать испускания газов из дырки путина😂😂😂
Европа и НАТО как всегда позорится, США ведут себя как жадный еврейский торговец.
This interviewer is the douchiest guy I’ve withessed in a while but from what I’ve heard about vice it makes sense
19:16 U.S. Gov already blaming the bombing of schoolhouses full of children on AI targeting, so not sure there is a misunderstanding. Our military is not principled in this respect; they have lost all semblance of principle, in my opinion. It is not possible to be a Christian of good character and be using AI targeting in military operations in my opinion either.
30:00 if these groups from these regions are such a massive threat why is the united states allowing a massive influx of them? Doesn't make any sense.
43:00 we jumped right over ethical concerns and went right to deployment.
Gasparri told many, many specific military matter, the places where they make anti-drone drones, he is a FANTASTIC SOURCE for Ahmed, Sergei, and a lot of other active enemy parties. I frankly find it MONSTRUOUSLY NAIVE.
Yankees like to make a show out of anything, so much more than italians do. He is an italo-anerican and for mere exibitionism he makes a beautiful gift to thousands of enemies, putting other people's life at a very big danger. I cannot explain to myself how big must be these soldiers' Ego. Something that goes far beyond idiocy. He literally couldn't have been more accurate. Congratulations! You are a dumbass boot, you got loose lips. Men at the front will thank you.
Will never ever trust any government entity or attached contractor when they describe how good their technology is.
The Digital Blitzkreig
Let’s go 173rd AATW
Lt. Gasparri is a very intelligent, very squared away, very impressive young man doing great things and not afraid to push the boundaries, its great to see such capable young men making an impact in the force…and mind you, he is just one of many extremely capable young men in our military across many different MOS', not just the rifleman or operator on the ground. The US Military is indeed a massive, sometimes relatively slow moving force when it comes to adjusting and retasking, and changing tactics because that is just the nature of the beast(although its been getting much better at doing so lately) but people need to remember that with the MASSIVE power, and weight of the US Military also comes an incredible amount of resources. The reason I mention that is because, if people think what Ukraine has been doing with one-way attack drones, or think the Shahed(which we have already produced an American, far more capable version of btw) is a crafty capability, and dont get me wrong there is definitely impressive takeaways from both those capabilities…but people seem to get the wrong idea about this kind of asymmetrical drone warfare.
The US military is now finally getting into full gear in adopting these same types of capabilities, except were doing the same thing with the massive logistics and resources of the US military, and US Defense Industry…which means if you think Ukranian FPV use or Shahed's were impressive, what youre going to see the US military do with the same type of capability is going to be INSANE. People seem to think its just a way for a lesser force, to fight a bigger, better resourced force asymmetrically, but that isnt the case, now what happens when that far superior force puts their resources into doing the same thing? The result is going to be a MASSIVE number of, and increased capability of drone warfare unlike anyone has ever seen yet. Its good to see our military fully embracing drones, and AI, because with the proper backing of leadership, and all the resources at the US military's disposal, its going to become the most terrifying weapon our adversaries can imagine, and theyre going to wish they never were the ones to help spur on this drone/AI revolution.
Well this guy should be president before Trump come on now America ho ho ho ho
Kind of funny how the US military is just adapting technologies that citizens, tech enthusiasts, protestors, etc, etc have been using for years to counteract the big 'exquisite' systems used by various governments
waving a white flag!
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When governments don't need large populations of consumers and soldiers anymore, do you think they'll be worried about letting people vote or even keeping them alive?
someone needs to make sure that these young fellas are preserved and not allowed to be spireted away from our country, and try and find china's next gen genius and swear them in.
He literally just said reset and withhold tech from us
Just know this, one day we'll all be fighting these machines just to survive and not go extinct!
This is exactly how Britain went broke the good thing is after we go broke the world will be a safer place
So our only real peers are china, europe, maybe russia, India, since we have the most experience with this tech. IE drones, video games, computer programming as an attainable hobby in our societies?