Dual-use tech: the Anduril example

"Technologies that have both military and civilian applications are known as "dual-use". Drone start-ups, arms giants, and satellite manufacturers are among the tech companies which are increasingly marketing surveillance products for both military and civil applications, leading to a blurring of the lines between the two domains. This has serious implications for our freedoms, and the militarisation of our societies, and the use of publicly-funded research."

"This set of profiles aims to demonstrate how technologies developed for the battlefield are increasingly shaping civilian life, and vice-versa. Additionally it seeks to support civil society and investigations to shed light on the opaque corporate structures and public-private partnerships that enable unlawful surveillance and repression, often shielded from scrutiny by the pursuit of profit. By tracing these connections and funding flows, the series also highlights how public money is fueling a global market for dual-use technologies with far-reaching social and political consequences."

"Anduril Industries, Inc. is a US military technology company specialising in autonomous surveillance products and weapons. These products minimise the need for a human role in deciding when and how they are deployed, providing the potential for a horrific escalation of state power. An avid gamer, its founder, Palmer Luckey, made his fortune by designing virtual reality headsets, and Anduril makes the experience of operating its warfare and border policing products " exactly like playing a videogame"."

Technologies with both military and civilian applications are increasingly marketed as dual-use surveillance tools by drone startups, arms companies, and satellite manufacturers. The sale of surveillance products across military and civilian markets blurs boundaries between domains and raises implications for civil liberties, societal militarisation, and the use of publicly funded research. Public money helps fuel a global market for dual-use technologies through opaque corporate structures and public-private partnerships. Anduril Industries, Inc. develops autonomous surveillance systems and weapons that reduce human decision-making in deployment. The company presents its systems as videogame-like to normalise gamified warfare and border policing.

Read at Privacy International