AI Helped Me Build a Killer Drone
Description: ► For more, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Can an average guy build a killer drone in his garage?
For the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and Mother Jones, reporter Matt Smith set out to answer this question armed with zero engineering background and only a handful of AI chatbots to guide him.
It didn’t take much convincing. The chatbots handed him a shopping list—everything from propellers to an onboard computer—and walked him through the assembly and programming, coaching a man with the technical chops of an 11th grader.
Watch what happened next—and what it reveals about how close AI has brought us to a world where anyone can build an autonomous weapon.
Credits:
Video by David Ritsher
Reporting by Matt Smith
Executive Producer Amanda Pike
Bulletin Editor John Mecklin
Read the full story at https://thebulletin.org/2026/08/ai-helped-me-almost-build-a-killer-drone/
--
For more award-winning independent reporting, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motherjones/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/motherjones
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motherjonesmag Close description
Can an average guy build a killer drone in his garage?
For the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and Mother Jones, reporter Matt Smith set out to answer this question armed with zero engineering background and only a handful of AI chatbots to guide him.
It didn’t take much convincing. The chatbots handed him a shopping list—everything from propellers to an onboard computer—and walked him through the assembly and programming, coaching a man with the technical chops of an 11th grader.
Watch what happened next—and what it reveals about how close AI has brought us to a world where anyone can build an autonomous weapon.
Credits:
Video by David Ritsher
Reporting by Matt Smith
Executive Producer Amanda Pike
Bulletin Editor John Mecklin
Read the full story at https://thebulletin.org/2026/08/ai-helped-me-almost-build-a-killer-drone/
--
For more award-winning independent reporting, visit Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motherjones/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/motherjones
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motherjonesmag Close description