British Army launches recruitment campaign featuring robots

The campaign is called Nothing Can Do What A Soldier Can Do.

British Army troops (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Archive)

The British Army has launched a new recruitment drive featuring robots.

The campaign called Nothing Can Do What A Soldier Can Do contains the message that while new technologies are being used by troops in battle, the future of UK defence will be underpinned by soldiers.

A one-minute video advert, which will be shown in cinemas, on television and online, shows a dystopian future where a robotic soldier scouts the terrain of a conflict zone, made of more than 4,000 individual CGI elements and 2,000 sound design samples.

The ending shows that while technology is important, only soldiers can make instinctive decisions on the ground in a conflict zone.

As part of the drive, striking images of soldiers and robots will be displayed on billboards.

The campaign is the sixth iteration of the “This is Belonging” series developed by Accenture Song together with Capita and the British Army.

Colonel Nick Mackenzie, assistant director of recruiting, said: “Like previous recruitment campaigns, Nothing Can Do What A Soldier Can Do aims to dispel one of the many myths that surround the British Army.

“This time, looking at the British Army of the future and the role of soldiers within it.

“We want to tell future recruits that, no matter what technological advancements we make, it is the judgment, intelligence and even the wit of our soldiers that is indispensable to the future of the Army.

“We hope the campaign will lead to potential applicants seeing the Army as an exciting place they can learn and grow, and be valued as an integral part in our future.”

Richard Holroyd, managing director of Capita Defence, Fire and Security, said: “While we live more of our lives online and increasingly in augmented realities, it’s easy to believe that the future of any armed force is now about mass robotic units managed by unfeeling AI.

“As a former soldier, I know that will simply never be the case. Technology must work alongside the human ingenuity of soldiers and personnel – the army of the future still needs you.”