Why We Need A New Cold War Strategic Approach

Why We Need A New Cold War Strategic Approach
Why We Need A New Cold War Strategic Approach

If the United States cannot better align its actions, messaging, and strategy and do it in a unified fashion — as it did during the Cold War — it risks reductions to military readiness and our ability to effectively compete with adversaries.

US Must Hustle On Hypersonics, EW, AI: VCJCS Selva & Work

US Must Hustle On Hypersonics, EW, AI: VCJCS Selva & Work
US Must Hustle On Hypersonics, EW, AI: VCJCS Selva & Work

WASHINGTON: China is besting the United States in key military technologies like hypersonic missiles and electronic warfare, Gen. Paul Selva, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs said today. We can still catch up, he predicted. What about Artificial Intelligence? That’s too close to call, said former deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, so we’d better get a move on. Both men…

All Systems Were GO! SpaceX’s Big Falcon Heavy

All Systems Were GO! SpaceX’s Big Falcon Heavy
All Systems Were GO! SpaceX’s Big Falcon Heavy

WASHINGTON: No lives were on the line. It wasn’t lofting a billion dollar spy satellite. But the SpaceX Falcon Heavy test launch demonstrated today that the world’s largest rocket system worked largely as planned. And, as one observer noted, the entire system was built for commercial reasons alone; no government agency crafted a requirement saying…

‘At War Next Week’: Bob Work On Readiness, Modernization, & COCOMs

‘At War Next Week’: Bob Work On Readiness, Modernization, & COCOMs
‘At War Next Week’: Bob Work On Readiness, Modernization, & COCOMs

WASHINGTON: The US can’t afford to modernize its military and increase its size at the same time, said the former deputy secretary of defense , Bob Work. It can’t build up war-ready forces to deter Russia and China while engaging in non-stop operations around the world, the way we have since 1991. If we have…

Our Artificial Intelligence ‘Sputnik Moment’ Is Now: Eric Schmidt & Bob Work

Our Artificial Intelligence ‘Sputnik Moment’ Is Now: Eric Schmidt & Bob Work
Our Artificial Intelligence ‘Sputnik Moment’ Is Now: Eric Schmidt & Bob Work

WASHINGTON: When former Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work heard the head of Google’s parent company, Eric Schmidt, say this morning that America needs a national strategy for developing Artificial Intelligence, one image sprang to his mind’s eye. “The image that popped into my mind was of Nikita Khrushchev banging his shoe in the UN and…

Pentagon Studies Weapons That Can Read Users’ Mind

Pentagon Studies Weapons That Can Read Users’ Mind
Pentagon Studies Weapons That Can Read Users’ Mind

NEWSEUM: The troops of tomorrow may be able to pull the trigger using only their minds. As artificially intelligent drones, hacking, jamming, and missiles accelerate the pace of combat, some of the military’s leading scientists are studying how mere humans can keep up with the incredible speed of cyber warfare, missiles and other threats. One…

Artificial Stupidity: Learning To Trust Artificial Intelligence (Sometimes)

Artificial Stupidity: Learning To Trust Artificial Intelligence (Sometimes)
Artificial Stupidity: Learning To Trust Artificial Intelligence (Sometimes)

In science fiction and real life alike, there are plenty of horror stories where humans trust artificial intelligence too much. They range from letting the fictional SkyNet control our nuclear weapons to letting Patriots shoot down friendly planes or letting Tesla Autopilot crash into a truck. At the same time, though, there’s also a danger…

Artificial Stupidity: Fumbling The Handoff From AI To Human Control

Artificial Stupidity: Fumbling The Handoff From AI To Human Control
Artificial Stupidity: Fumbling The Handoff From AI To Human Control

Science fiction taught us to fear smart machines we can’t control. But reality should teach us to fear smart machines that need us to take control when we’re not ready. From Patriot missiles to Tesla cars to Airbus jets, automated systems have killed human beings, not out of malice, but because the humans operating them…

Artificial Stupidity: When Artificial Intelligence + Human = Disaster

APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY: Futurists worry about artificial intelligence becoming too intelligent for humanity’s good. Here and now, however, artificial intelligence can be dangerously dumb. When complacent humans become over-reliant on dumb AI, people can die. The lethal track record goes from the Tesla Autopilot crash last year, to the Air France 447 disaster that killed 228…

War Without Fear: DepSecDef Work On How AI Changes Conflict

War Without Fear: DepSecDef Work On How AI Changes Conflict
War Without Fear: DepSecDef Work On How AI Changes Conflict

APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY: “Brothers and sisters, my name is Bob Work, and I have sinned,” the Deputy Secretary of Defense said to laughter. There’s widespread agreement in the military that artificial intelligence, robotics, and human-machine teaming will change the way that war is waged, Work told an AI conference here Thursday, “but I am starting…

The War Algorithm: The Pentagon’s Bet On The Future Of War

The War Algorithm: The Pentagon’s Bet On The Future Of War
The War Algorithm: The Pentagon’s Bet On The Future Of War

Thinking about robots and war often brings to mind HAL, the apparently well-meaning but ultimately destructive computer in 2001, or the metallic creatures of death in the Terminator series. Today, however, the Pentagon wants to push the concept in a different direction. With advanced adversaries like Russia and China copying the smart weapons, stealth fighters, and…

Lockheed Exoskeleton Gives Troops A Leg Up, Literally

Lockheed Exoskeleton Gives Troops A Leg Up, Literally
Lockheed Exoskeleton Gives Troops A Leg Up, Literally

It is not Iron Man. It isn’t even Iron Fist. Lockheed Martin’s newest exoskeleton is more like Iron Leg. But for a soldier humping his weapons, ammo and body armor up a mountain in Afghanistan or a high-rise building in a future urban battle, a device to take the load off would be welcome. And, unlike…

OODA Loop 2.0: Information, Not Agility, Is Life

OODA Loop 2.0: Information, Not Agility, Is Life
OODA Loop 2.0: Information, Not Agility, Is Life

Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act. The OODA Loop remains a key concept for those who fight, especially fighter pilots. After all, Air Force Col. John Boyd made it and his theory of Energy-Maneuverability famous with his bold claim to be able to defeat any other pilot within 40 seconds. Boyd helped inspire the designs of the…

‘Algorithmic Warfare:’ DSD Work Unleashes AI On Intel Data

‘Algorithmic Warfare:’ DSD Work Unleashes AI On Intel Data
‘Algorithmic Warfare:’ DSD Work Unleashes AI On Intel Data

WASHINGTON: The technophilic Deputy Defense Secretary, Bob Work, just stood up a task force to advance the use of artificial intelligence in military intelligence. This is not SkyNet, an AI with its finger on the launch button. Instead, the first project for this Algorithmic Warfare Cross-Functional Team will be developing AI to sort through vast…