Sanjeev and Robotwallah (short story): Teleoperating war machines is hard (Video Review)

Recommendation: Read this, then read about how it captures what real drone pilots are going through

Sanjeev and Robotwallah, the short story by Ian McDonald in the We Robots anthology, almost broke my heart. It’s the story of an Indian boy who adores a group of military drone pilots, who are barely more than boys themselves. The group of pilots, sporting anime-inspired uniforms and boy-band swagger, teleoperate ground and aerial robots through virtual reality rigs in order to suppress a civil war that no one seems to understand. And then one day, the war is over…