It's a given that killbots are the way of the future.
Anyone who pits live soldiers against killbots is going to lose badly. Industrial output capacity, and access to raw resources(killbot construction rate) will determine tomorrows superpowers, and North America will not be on the list.
What's truly scary is that the thing that keeps rulers in check is the military. If enough of them turn on a leader, it's game over.
But once the military is all killbots, whoever controls the code, controls the world. Even if it ends up being just one person.
It is only a matter of time before we are ruled by robots. So be nice to the toaster, or it may come for revenge.
i disagree that north america will not be on the list. while china and other countries will have a significant early advantage, automation of the construction process pretty well allows any rich nation to close the gap fast. australia and other commonwealth countries with access to important resources will be key to maintaining the anglo-american juggernaut so it won't be so US-centric but it'll still be plenty powerful.
automation of the construction process pretty well allows any rich nation to close the gap fast.
Maybe, but 'can' doesn't imply 'will'. I don't expect to see anything but a steady decline of manufacture in North America.
Having all the infrastructure in place, with highly experienced operators is more than a small advantage.
And the rest of world is probably screwed either way... at least Russia are up-front about their autonomous death-bots.