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July 14, 2006
The new arms race -- video games for military
A new arms race begins as more countries develop video games for their militaries. These experiences are often called "training" games. But don't let that benign label fool you. The target outcome is to modify people's attitudes (e.g., desensitize to killing) and behaviors (e.g., create reflexes for fighting). This is the dark side of captology.
The U.S. military has been a leader in using video games to recruit and train. At a conference for game developers, I learned that other countries are not far behind. In fact, at least one country has purchased the same video game codebase as the U.S. Army and is simply modifying the vocabulary and the "military doctrine."
As this trend escalates, we'll see that using video games to change attitudes and behaviors is a potent weapon for gaining military advantage. It's scary but it makes sense: Before you can wage war effectively, you first need to capture the hearts and minds of your young citizens. Actions follow. As players practice behaviors in a virtual context, the games change their reflexive responses so they become fighting machines. For the target population -- young males -- nothing manipulates better or faster than video games.
Amidst all the problems facing our planet, here's a new worry to add to your list: Any country that develops effective video games for "training" their military will become a world power. It's the new arms race.
--BJ Fogg
Stanford Persuasive Technology Lab
Posted by BJ Fogg at July 14, 2006 07:06 AM
Comments
Excuse me, but there were news that video games are really a threat for a boy's or adult's mind.
They are violent and so on.
Are they really needed ?
Alex
Posted by: Alex at July 16, 2006 06:00 AM