Ring of Gyges: Anonymity and Technological Advance's Effect on the Deterrence of Nonstate Actors in 2035.

摘要

From the time of Plato, men have pondered how an individual would act if they were unidentifiable or anonymous. In The Republic, Plato used the story of Gyges of Lydia, who found a ring in a cave and put it upon his finger to become invisible to show how a man would act when he believed himself to be anonymous. Gyges used the ring to take over a kingdom becoming the first in a long history of men who altered their actions when they believed themselves to be unidentifiable. Twenty-four hundred years later the problems of anonymity that Plato imagined through fiction are becoming reality relative to how they affect deterrence strategies. As technology proliferates and more people and things become connected through networks, individuals are gaining the ability to anonymously become highly disruptive, thereby creating a degree of sanctuary no matter where they reside. As the United States considers its future deterrence strategy for the 2035 timeframe, understanding how the rapid increase in technological know-how combined with anonymity will affect the behavior of groups and individuals is of paramount importance. Without an improved understanding of this dynamic among groups and individuals, traditional approaches to deterrence may become ineffective by 2035 as anonymity and technological advances constrain a state s ability to use punishment and increases the challenge of denial as currently understood and practiced.