From a reader:

Jonah, I work for a company that builds some of those robots, and I can tell you, recruiting, training, outfitting, sustaining and maintaining a soldier over the course of their useful career and dealing with their extended health care when they are injured and supporting their grieving family when they are killed is FAR MORE expensive than a robot. The military has a whole slew of acronym programs to deal with this reality (why Heinlein, and I , both proud naval academy grads and sailors, are wholeheartedly opposed to the draft – there is a MARKET for talent and the military has to compete – treating people like expendible fodder only works when they ARE expendible)
By the way, I share an office with a group who IS looking at finding ways of building “mind reading” robots – who can look at and classify human intentions….

Note: I should make clear — as I thought I had — that I don’t look forward to these developments as anything like wholly positive. I do find them interesting.