Tech mogul Palmer Luckey creating arsenal of AI-powered autonomous weapons

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This is an updated mentation of a communicative archetypal published connected May 18, 2025. The archetypal video tin beryllium viewed here.

Over the past decade, a caller breed of tech billionaires has positioned themselves not simply arsenic entrepreneurs, but arsenic visionary saviors who judge exertion tin alteration the world.

Tonight, we'll present you to 1 of them.

His sanction is Palmer Luckey and he's the laminitis of Anduril, a California defence products company.

Luckey says for excessively long, the U.S. subject has relied connected overpriced and outdated technology.

He argues a Tesla has amended AI than immoderate U.S. craft and a Roomba vacuum has amended autonomy than astir of the Pentagon's weapons systems.

So Anduril is making a enactment of autonomous weapons that run utilizing artificial intelligence, nary quality required.

Some planetary groups person called those types of weapons slayer robots.

But arsenic Sharyn Alfonsi archetypal reported earlier this year, Palmer Luckey says it is the aboriginal of warfare.Palmer Luckey: I've ever said that we request to modulation from being the satellite constabulary to being the satellite weapon store.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Do we privation to beryllium the world's weapon store?

Palmer Luckey: I deliberation so. I deliberation we person to.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Says the feline who sells weapons.

Palmer Luckey: See, I-- I hold it sounds self-fulfilling. But you person to remember, I besides got into this manufacture due to the fact that I judge that.

Palmer Luckey isn't your emblematic defence manufacture executive. His regular "uniform" – flip-flops and a Hawaiian garment – is much suited for Margaritaville than the military.

But the 32-year-old billionaire is the laminitis of Anduril, whose enactment of American-made autonomous weapons looks similar it came consecutive retired of a sci-fi movie and whose slick selling videos wouldn't beryllium retired of spot successful one.

There's the Roadrunner – a duplicate turbo jet-powered drone interceptor that tin instrumentality off, identify, and strike. If it doesn't find a target, it tin onshore and effort again.

Anduril besides makes headsets which allows soldiers to spot 360 degrees successful combat.

And there's this – it's an electromagnetic warfare strategy that tin beryllium programmed to jam force systems, knocking retired drone swarms.

It's not immoderate futuristic fantasy. Anduril's systems are already being utilized by the U.S. subject and successful the warfare successful Ukraine.

Palmer Luckey: We shouldn't beryllium sending our radical to basal successful different countries, putting our men and women, our sons and daughters astatine hazard for the sovereignty of different nations.

Sharyn Alfonsi: So you'd alternatively person an American-made merchandise successful their hands than our soldiers implicit there?

Palmer Luckey: Absolutely. Every time. And I deliberation that that's 1 of the reasons that autonomy is truthful powerful. Right now, determination are truthful galore limb systems that necessitate manning. You know, if I tin person 1 feline bid and con-- controlling 100 aircraft, that's a batch easier than having to person a aviator successful each azygous one. And it puts a batch less American lives astatine risk.

To beryllium clear, "autonomy" does not mean distant controlled.

Once an autonomous limb is programmed and fixed a task, it tin usage artificial quality for surveillance oregon to identify, prime and prosecute targets. No relation needed.

Sharyn Alfonsi: It's a scary thought to immoderate people.

Palmer Luckey: It's a scary idea, but, I mean, that's the satellite we unrecorded in. I'd accidental it's a batch scarier, for example, to ideate a weapons strategy that doesn't person immoderate level of quality astatine all. There's nary motivation precocious crushed to making a onshore excavation that can't archer the quality betwixt a schoolhouse autobus afloat of children and Russian armor. It's not a question betwixt astute weapons and nary weapons. It's a question betwixt astute weapons and dumb weapons.

Luckey showed america however those alleged "smart weapons" tin beryllium synchronized connected Anduril's AI platform. It's called Lattice.

Lattice collects information from assorted sensors and sources, including satellites, drones, radar and cameras.

Allowing, helium says, the SI to analyze, determination assets and execute missions faster than a human.

Palmer Luckey: If you were having to necessitate the quality relation to really representation each azygous enactment and say, "Hey, bash this. If that, past this." It would instrumentality truthful agelong to negociate it that you would beryllium amended disconnected conscionable remotely piloting it. It's the AI onboard each these weapons that makes it imaginable to marque it truthful easy.

Sharyn Alfonsi: There are tons of radical who go, "Oh, AI. I don't know. I don't spot it. It's gonna spell rogue."

Palmer Luckey: I would accidental that it is thing to beryllium alert of. But successful the expansive strategy of things, things to beryllium acrophobic of, there's things that I'm overmuch much terrified of and I'm a batch much disquieted astir evil radical with mediocre advances successful exertion than AI deciding that it's gonna hitch america each out.

Luckey says each Anduril's weapons person a "kill switch" that let a quality relation to intervene if needed.

But the caput wide of the United Nations has called lethal autonomous weapons, punctuation "politically unacceptable and morally repugnant."

Sharyn Alfonsi: When radical accidental to you, "Look, it's evil." How bash you respond to that?

Palmer Luckey: I usually don't fuss because, if I americium gonna reason with them, I-- I usually poke it. I'm like, "Okay, truthful bash you deliberation that NATO should beryllium equipped with squirt guns or-- oregon slingshots? How 'bout sternly worded letters? Would you similar that? Would you similar it if-- if NATO just-- they conscionable person a clump of guys sitting astatine typewriters, a 1000 monkeys penning letters to Vladimir Putin begging him to not invade Ukraine?" Our full nine exists due to the fact that of a credible backstop of unit threatened by the United States and our allies each implicit the world. And convey goodness for it.

It mightiness dependable flip but portion of Palmer Luckey's doctrine is that autonomous weapons yet beforehand bid by scaring adversaries away.

Palmer Luckey: My presumption has been that the United States needs to limb our allies and partners astir the satellite truthful that they could beryllium prickly porcupines that cipher wants to measurement on, cipher wants to-- to wound them.

Sharyn Alfonsi: In your mind, is it capable conscionable to person each these things arsenic deterrents? Or bash they person to beryllium deployed and used.

Palmer Luckey: They person to judge that you tin usage them.

By the extremity of this year, Anduril says it volition person secured much than $6 cardinal successful authorities contracts worldwide.

Sharyn Alfonsi: When you archetypal came into this space, and you're a t-- a tech feline in-- a Hawaiian shirt, and you're walking into the Pentagon possibly successful flip-flops, I don't know. Were you welcomed with unfastened arms?

Palmer Luckey: There were a precise tiny fig of radical who welcomed maine with unfastened arms, and everyone other thought that I was nuts.

Nuts, due to the fact that determination hasn't been a caller institution successful the defence manufacture – successful a important mode – since the extremity of the Cold War.

For decades, 5 defence contractors, called "the primes," person dominated the industry.

Typically, the "primes" contiguous an thought to the Pentagon. If the Pentagon buys it, the authorities pays for the institution to make it. Even if it's precocious oregon goes implicit budget.

Luckey started Anduril to flip that procurement operation connected its head.

Palmer Luckey: The thought down Anduril was to physique not a defence contractor but a defence products company.

Sharyn Alfonsi: What's the difference?

Palmer Luckey: Contractors successful wide are paid to bash work. Whether oregon not it succeeds. A products institution has a precise antithetic mentality. You're putting successful your ain money. You're putting successful your ain time. My imaginativeness was to physique a institution that would amusement up not with a PowerPoint describing however taxpayers are gonna wage each my bills but with a moving merchandise wherever each the hazard has been baked out. It volition enactment for capable things that you tin prevention our state hundreds of billions of dollars a year.

It whitethorn not astonishment you that Palmer Luckey's begetter was a car salesman.

His parent took connected the relation of homeschooling him and his 3 sisters.

Luckey says helium was fascinated by electronics and spent a batch of clip tinkering successful his parents' store successful Long Beach, California.

By property 19, his tinkering turned into Oculus, the virtual world company.

And astatine 21, Palmer Luckey fulfilled each young founder's imagination erstwhile helium sold Oculus to Facebook for $2 billion.

"The wonder-kid" graced the covers of magazines, but 2 years later, helium was fired from Facebook.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Why did you get fired?

Palmer Luckey: Well, you know, everyone's got a antithetic story, but it boils down to I gave $9,000 to a governmental radical that was for Donald Trump and against Hillary Clinton. To beryllium a Trump protagonist successful 2016-- you know, this was astatine the tallness of the predetermination insanity and derangement successful Silicon Valley. And truthful I deliberation that a batch of radical thought backmost past that you cou-- you could conscionable occurrence a Trump supporter.

Facebook laminitis Mark Zuckerberg has denied that Luckey was fired for his governmental views.

Sharyn Alfonsi: What bash you deliberation present erstwhile you spot those tech leaders, Mark Zuckerberg, lined up down President Trump present astatine his inauguration?

Palmer Luckey: I americium inclined to fto each azygous 1 of them get distant with it. Look--

Sharyn Alfonsi: What bash you mean get distant with it?

Palmer Luckey: Coming astir to a constituent of presumption that is much aligned with the American radical broadly I deliberation is bully for the country. I deliberation it is not bully for you to person techno-corpo elites that are radically retired of measurement with wherever the American radical are.

In 2017, Luckey says helium near Silicon Valley, with hundreds of millions of dollars successful the slope and a spot connected his shoulder.

Palmer Luckey: I was fired astatine the tallness of my career, you know, my gears were ground, and I truly wanted to beryllium that I was somebody, that I was not a one-hit wonder, and that I inactive had it successful maine to bash large things.

He says helium thought astir starting companies to combat obesity oregon hole the situation strategy but yet decided to interruption into the defence industry.

Sharyn Alfonsi: Have you tally into immoderate radical who don't instrumentality you earnestly due to the fact that you were ne'er successful the military?

Palmer Luckey: I-- I don't deliberation so. I deliberation I beryllium that to the James Bond franchise. Everyone successful the subject has seen James Bond movies and they each similar Q, right? I'm the wacky gadget man. I'm the feline who types connected the machine and pushes up my glasses, and past gives them a unusual happening to assistance them execute their mission.

And this is his laboratory. Anduril's 640,000 quadrate ft office successful Costa Mesa, California.

It's a premix of high-tech carpentry and robotic engineering. A motion connected the level pokes amusive astatine the boss's footwear choice.

But Luckey wanted to amusement america thing disconnected campus. We hopped successful his 1985 Humvee.

The billionaire told america helium also owns a decommissioned Black Hawk helicopter, a 48-crew submarine, and a Navy speedboat.

In Dana Point, we took a thrust 15 minutes disconnected the seashore to spot the largest limb successful Anduril's arsenal: this submarine. It's called the Dive XL. It's astir the size of a schoolhouse autobus and works autonomously.

Palmer Luckey: It's not remote-controlled by this computer. It's doing it connected the brain, connected the submarine itself. So if I told it to spell disconnected and execute immoderate ngo that's months-long, like, "Go to this target, perceive for this peculiar signature, and if you spot this signature, run, if you spot this one, hide, if you spot this one, travel it." It could bash that each connected its ain without being detected, without communicating with it.

Anduril says the Dive XL tin question 1,000 miles afloat submerged. Australia has already invested $58 cardinal successful the subs to assistance support its seas from China.

But Anduril's astir anticipated limb was intimately guarded until may. Hidden wrong this hangar, Anduril's unmanned combatant pitchy called "Fury." There is nary cockpit, oregon instrumentality oregon rudder due to the fact that there's nary pilot.

Palmer Luckey: The thought is that you're gathering a robotic combatant pitchy that is, you know, flying with manned fighters and is doing what you inquire it to do, recommending things beryllium done-- taking risks that you don't privation quality pilots to take.

Fury represents a large turning constituent for the company. Anduril was viewed by immoderate wrong the defence manufacture arsenic a "tech-bro" startup until it bushed retired respective of the premier defence contractors to marque an unmanned combatant pitchy for the Air Force.

Fury is scheduled to instrumentality its archetypal trial formation this summer. If selected by the Pentagon it, similar each Anduril products, volition beryllium produced successful the U.S.

Palmer Luckey: The warfare games accidental we're gonna tally retired of munitions successful 8 days successful a combat with China. If we person to combat Iran, and China, and Russia each astatine the aforesaid time, we are screwed.

Sharyn Alfonsi: If we spell to war, right--

Palmer Luckey: Yep.

Sharyn Alfonsi: --your mentation of what Anduril's spot is in-- successful a conflict--

Palmer Luckey: Yep.

Sharyn Alfonsi: --how bash you presumption it?

Palmer Luckey: I deliberation what we're gonna beryllium doing is archetypal connecting a batch of these systems that different would not person been talking to 1 another.We're gonna beryllium making ample numbers of cruise missiles, ample numbers of combatant jets, ample numbers of aboveground and subsurface systems. I conjecture I would anticipation that Anduril is making astir of the worldly that's being utilized connected time nine, time 10, time 11, time 100. I deliberation a batch of that is gonna beryllium coming retired of our factories ever-- aft everything other has tally dry.

Produced by Lucy Hatcher. Associate producer, Jessica Kegu. Broadcast associate, Erin DuCharme. Edited by Robert Zimet.

Sharyn Alfonsi

Sharyn Alfonsi is an award-winning analogous for 60 Minutes.

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