alt.hn

5/20/2026 at 3:09:32 PM

Russian Troops' Fear Grows as Ukraine AI "Slaughterbot" Drones Headhunt Them

 http://www.thelowdownblog.com/2026/05/russian-troops-fear-grows-as-ukraine-ai.html

by tim333

5/20/2026 at 9:02:59 PM

Apparently, in Vietnam war there were radio stations, aimed at talking down morale among US troops.

Anyone know if this (or a modern variant) has been tried in Russo-Ukraine war? Might be very effective given already low-morale troops chased by headhunting drones.

There's many examples throughout history where armies fell apart when the soldiers had enough & ran off.

by RetroTechie

5/21/2026 at 12:59:49 PM

Both sides try. On the Ukrainian side the drone people post a bunch of gruesome drone deaths on @414magyarbirds

I've come to the conclusion the AI slaugherbot in the article I posted to HN isn't one. If you look carefully at the video the Russian shoots his rifle at it setting off the shaped charge. Sorry about that.

by tim333

5/21/2026 at 12:47:43 AM

https://hochuzhit.com/en/

I think i saw videos of drones w loudspeakers or dropping flyers w a telegram QR code but I don’t have sources.

by lancekey

5/20/2026 at 9:13:43 PM

The lethality sounds very humane but if ending a war is an excuse for anything then I doubt Russia could handle a fraction of the casualties if they were primarily sub-lethal.

by elkrapo

5/20/2026 at 5:43:49 PM

It is wild and utterly tragic to me how much the landscape of warfare as changed so rapidly.

While I adamantly support the Ukrainian defense against Russia's invasion, I still cannot help but feel empathy for many of the soldiers on both sides. Young men and women that likely would rather be anywhere else in the world.

Warhammer 40k lore was right about one thing, "There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods."

by hirvi74

5/20/2026 at 7:55:06 PM

The utter tragedy is that old men love to start wars and watch young men die in them.

Technology always changes war, and this is just the beginning of drone technology. Autonomous operations will increase with time, and sooner or later warring nations will just drop clouds of small drones in particular areas and 'let god sort them out'.

by pixl97

5/21/2026 at 7:55:47 AM

> Autonomous operations will increase with time, and sooner or later warring nations will just drop clouds of small drones in particular areas and 'let god sort them out'.

This does feel inevitable. And yet can it be made "hackproof"? Even now there are claims that Russian EW is responsible for not just confusing but also taking control of Ukrainian drones, sending them into Baltic countries.

by euroderf

5/20/2026 at 9:09:18 PM

I read that ukrainian army starts enroling at 25 to 60, making it a significantly older army than russia

by Glawen

5/20/2026 at 10:00:21 PM

I mean, Ukraine didn't choose to have this war... but there is a scared old fart in Russia that did.

by pixl97

5/20/2026 at 9:14:47 PM

Sooner or later (probably sooner), clouds of killer drones will be coming for all of us.

by 20after4

5/21/2026 at 6:41:47 AM

"Politicians hide themselves away

They only started the war

Why should they go out to fight?

They leave that role to the poor"

Nothing ever changes.

by fallingfrog

5/20/2026 at 3:48:05 PM

Some discussion on r/ukraine https://www.reddit.com/r/ukraine/comments/1tilmjy/russian_tr...

by tim333

5/20/2026 at 4:51:49 PM

No discussions of note on that thread.

We have little more than a single ambiguous video and hearsay on the subject of an auto-targeting anti-personnel quadcopter. However, recently videos emerged of an auto-targeting Ukraine-produced fixed-wing bombing trucks and such.

by dmos62

5/20/2026 at 5:25:26 PM

I guess as you say it may be not so. The fixed wing ones taking out trucks I think are from Eric Schmidt's company.

by tim333