NERD ALERT!!! NERD ALERT!!! NERD ALERT!!!

Navy uses massive multiplayer online game to develop anti-pirate strategy

To fight piracy off the coast of Africa, the U.S. Navy has deployed advanced warships, robotic drones and even elite special forces. The Navy has now added a new weapon to that fight: a “World of Warcraft”-like multiplayer game called MMOWGLI. The game brings experts from around the government into a virtual environment where they can work together in developing strategies to thwart modern-day buccaneers.

MMOWGLI, an acronym contracted from ” Massive Multiplayer Online Wargame Leveraging the Internet,” has undergone years of development within the Office of Naval Research (ONR). ONR scientists hope to expand the program beyond piracy, and use it to solve some of the world’s most intractable military problems.

Sweet. Life. Not only can our military singlehandedly dominate every other fighting force on the face of the planet, now they can kick our butts in World of Warcraft. USA! USA! USA!

But seriously, folks. This really has nothing to do with the law; I just think it’s incredibly cool to see how new and developing tech, created solely for our entertainment, is now being used by the military to keep our troops safe. Just think: WoW (and other games like it) has gone from this:

to this:

It’s not just online gaming that’s getting special treatment, either. Remember when Twitter was something only awkward keyboard monkeys knew about? Now, politicians run national campaigns with the help of social media platforms. Remember when it was so obvious that all bloggers lived in their mother’s basement? Now, there are bloggers reporting and giving commentary on a national level.

For me, at least, this stunning new use of entertainment technology is just further proof that our lives (and livelihoods) are becoming further entwined with the development and use of technology. For some, this means having a Facebook widget on the latest smartphone. For others, this means using what was once an online video game to take out a lethal band of pirates—and come out alive.

Not bad, nerds. Not bad at all.

Originally posted at Beyond Clause 8