It'll be rolled out within years.

United States Army Futures Command is at work modernizing weapons and equipment and identifying, acquiring and developing next-generation military technologies. It is “the best example of our commitment to the future lethality of the force” and “probably one of the boldest reforms” the Army has pursued, Secretary of the Army (later Secretary of Defense) Mark Esper told Congress in 2018. The command makes its home not on an Army base but on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. That choice was by design.

“It’s critical that we have access to talent,” Esper said at the time. “Talent that can help us think about the future strategic environment, thinking in the 2030s, 2040s, because that will inform, in many ways, the steps we take with regard to material … It’s proximity to innovation. It’s proximity to academia.”

UT Austin has a mission, too. It seeks to “transform lives for the benefit of society” and “to serve as a catalyst for positive change in Texas and beyond.” These human-centered ideals echo mission statements crafted by universities around the country that also lend expertise to the Pentagon.

Within the next few years, the United States is expected to possess fully autonomous lethal weapons systems—or “killer robots,” as they are known to opponents. Now, some people are asking whether the Defense Department’s massive higher education funding stream engages universities in supporting that work. While the Pentagon is clear about its lethal objectives, higher education is less so. Many universities welcome DOD funding with expressions of pride and altruism—and no mention of potential for harm.

“In the pursuit of talent, [the Defense Department] is like a parasitical creature that attaches itself to another entity to feed off of its energy and capabilities,” said Michael Klare, the Five College Professor Emeritus of Peace and World Security Studies at Hampshire College, who also serves on the board of the Arms Control Association.

But some, including Emelia Probasco, senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, where she works on the military applications of artificial intelligence, suggest that a portrait of the Defense Department as overly “focused on the war machine” is simplistic. In higher ed–military collaborations, “there’s quite a bit of health research and business operations research that gets overlooked,” said Probasco, who served as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy and deployed twice to the Indo-Pacific. She currently serves as a special government employee advising the Defense Innovation Unit.