Computer Says Kill: A License for Unlimited War w/ Amos Toh
Show notes
Military spending on AI is a triple black box: How is AI being used in the military? Who is winning these contracts and what are they worth? And what is the military’s end-game here?
More like this: How a Calculator Company Reshaped Modern Warfare w/ Jeff Stern
Amos Toh will help us answer these questions in part three of Computer Says Kill. We will cover how military spending has changed over the last couple of decades: there has been a clear shift from the straightforward buying up of jets, to the over-reliance on licensed software. Amos also shares what hasn’t changed, which is: yes, the government still spend a hell of a lot of money on military tech.
Further reading & resources:
- The Business of Military AI — Amos Toh, Emile Ayoub, March 2026
- Read Amos and Emile’s explainer on the military’s use of AI
- Pentagon's use of Claude during Maduro raid sparks Anthropic feud — Axios, Feb 13
- Department of War's Artificial Intelligence-First Agenda: A New Era for Defense Contractors — Holland & Knight, Feb 2026
- The Double Black Box by Ashely Deeks
- AI at war: Five things to know about Project Maven — Euractiv, April 2026
- Safety Co-Option and Compromised National Security: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of Weakened AI Risk Thresholds — Heidy Khlaaf, Sarah Myers West, April 2025
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Computer Says Maybe is produced by Georgia Iacovou, Kushal Dev, Marion Wellington, Sarah Myles, Van Newman, and Zoe Trout