The Download: the next anti-drone weapon, and powering AI's growth

Imagine: China deploys hundreds of thousands of autonomous drones in the air, on the sea, and under the water--all armed with explosive warheads or small missiles. These machines descend in a swarm toward military installations on Taiwan and nearby US bases, and over the course of a few hours, a single robotic blitzkrieg overwhelms the US Pacific force before it can even begin to fight back. The proliferation of cheap drones means just about any group with the wherewithal to assemble and launch a swarm could wreak havoc, no expensive jets or massive missile installations required. The US armed forces are now hunting for a solution--and they want it fast. Every branch of the service and a host of defense tech startups are testing out new weapons that promise to disable drones en masse.