The ability to coordinate, task, and manage hundreds or even thousands of autonomous systems simultaneously is changing the nature of military power. The drone is becoming a commodity. The operating system behind it is becoming the strategic advantage.
The real story is not the drone. It's the software and AI coordinating hundreds of autonomous systems simultaneously. Military power is being redefined — and most defence establishments are still counting platforms.
Every AI query requires computing power, energy, cooling systems, data centres, and increasingly specialised hardware. As billions of people begin using AI daily, the cumulative demand could become one of the largest consumers of digital infrastructure ever created. The question is not whether AI is valuable — it clearly is. The question is whether society will eventually need to think about "efficient AI usage" the same way we think about efficient energy usage today.