588 | George M. Dougherty: Beyond "Unmanned": How Drones Are (and Aren't) Rewriting Warfare

The Realignment

Jan 06, 2026•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 661

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Episode description

Niskanen Summer Institute: https://www.niskanencenter.org/niskanen-summer-institute-democracy-that-works/

Realignment Newsletter: https://therealignment.substack.com/

Realignment Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/shop/therealignment

Email the Show: realignmentpod@gmail.com

George M. Dougherty, author of Beast in the Machine: How Robotics and AI Will Transform Warfare and the Future of Human Conflict, joins The Realignment. Marshall and George discuss how robotics and AI are triggering a military revolution as consequential as mechanization a century ago, why the real story isn't "drones" but "universal precision: a 100-1000x leap in lethality on the battlefield, the need to rethink offense, defense, and initiative, how small states and non-state actors are innovating faster than the U.S. and legacy defense ecosystems, and what today's equivalent of the outmoded WWII battleship is.

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