Putin Was Right. AI Just Disrupted War in a Way That Should Terrify Everyone.

Photo by Scott Rodgerson on Unsplash

I hate to admit it, but Putin was right.

When people think about AI in war, they picture killer drones and autonomous weapons — munition that makes war deadlier. That’s the headline.

But after analyzing how AI is shaping modern conflict, I’ve realized something far more unsettling. The biggest shift won’t come from the weapons themselves. It’ll come from the split-second decision before the bomb goes bang.

Back in 2017, Putin told a group of students that “whoever becomes the leader in AI will rule the world.” At the time, I ignored him.

Suddenly, his words feel inevitable.

The “Kill Chain” in War

The kill chain is a blueprint of all war.

On the battlefield, both sides are trying to do the same 5 things. They’re:

1. Getting eyes into enemy territory.
2. Finding the enemy’s most valuable targets.
3. Fixing the targets’ locations.
4. Determining exactly what weapons to use and how to properly target and deploy them.
5. Assessing the targets to see if the weapons worked.