Oculus founder Palmer Luckey spoke about his move into creating new autonomous technology tools for the US military, and he’s not sorry about the decision. He also said that if the US and its allies are to win the next war they take part in, more technology companies need to get with the program.
Speaking at Web Summit in Lisbon on Thursday, Luckey said that while he was still at Oculus he started to become concerned that the US was falling behind in critical areas. He’s determined, he said, to help his country not just catch up to where its foreign adversaries are, but overtake them and lead the conversation.
After being let go from Facebook, the company he sold his VR company Oculus to, Luckey formed the company Anduril. The main project Anduril is working on is using sensors that’ll collect data that can be used to build a perfect 3D model of an area. An AI system will analyze the data to see what’s relevant and send it out in real time so soldiers can use mobile devices or heads-up displays to see everything going on around them — where their own troops are, where their enemies are.
Choosing to invest in and build autonomous technology designed specifically for war zones might not seem the obvious choice for a gamer who built a VR headset designed for gaming. But Luckey seems to almost see it as his duty to apply the country’s tech smarts to the issue. He also said other companies should be jumping on board with him.