Navy Admiral Pushes Pentagon To Use AI Tools Now

By Rebecca Grant: Up and down the chain of command, the military needs to be using AI today, not waiting for tomorrow.  So says retired four-star Admiral Charles Richard, an expert who commanded nuclear submarines and rose to lead U.S. Strategic Command – that’s the whole American nuclear weapons triad.  Richard and co-author Dr. Anshu Roy believe AI is “ready now” to integrate into the modern workflow. 

AI can help with everything from Pentagon budgets to brewing crises. According to Richard and Roy, “National security planners already are using AI to aggregate early indicators to warn decision-makers about gathering threats much earlier than in the past.” 

Richard and Roy hint at AI as a significant edge as US military forces cope with the cat-and-mouse games of China and others in grey zone operations. “Novel datasets can be used to detect unmaskable signatures based on opponent actions—both current and historic—to expand situational awareness and strengthen evaluation of future actions,” they suggest.

What if AI is sometimes wrong?  It happens.  Richard and Roy believe the key is transparency for the inputs, humility, and a rigorous decision/judgment process. In their view, American military leaders can’t wait on AI. Leaders must overcome cultural barriers and insist AI tools be used now.  Read more about AI for underwater detection here.