April 21, 2020
The Defense Department Needs a Real Technology Strategy
Defense Department leaders agree the U.S. military must reinvigorate its technological edge. They just can’t agree on which technologies matter. Nor do they appear to be laying out arguments that would help the rest of the Pentagon, lawmakers, and industry understand which technologies will matter most in tomorrow’s wars, and therefore which should receive top priority in terms of effort and funding. In short, DOD needs a technology strategy.
Former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work made artificial intelligence and autonomy the centerpiece of his “Third Offset Strategy.” Current Defense Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin has called hypersonics his top priority, with directed energy a close second. That would seem to be at odds with his boss, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who has declared AI his “number one.” Yet the past two years have seen Griffin issue formal guidance about 10 to 13 “priority” technologies, with AI, hypersonics, and nuclear modernization occupying the top spot, depending on the list. But they can’t all be number one, and conflicting guidance from senior DoD leaders isn’t helpful for establishing real priorities in defense spending.
Read the full article in Defense One.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
CNAS Insights | The Export Control Loophole Fueling China's Chip ProductionThis week, Reuters reported that China has apparently built a prototype of an extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) system, a highly intricate machine used to produce cutting-...
By Michelle Nie, Autumn Dorsey & Janet Egan
-
Video
Technology & National Security
Paul Scharre on How AI Could Transform the Nature of WarPaul Scharre, CNAS Executive Vice President, joins host Luisa Rodriguez to explain why we are hurtling toward a “battlefield singularity” — a tipping point where AI increasing...
By Paul Scharre
-
Commentary
Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Recommendations for Promoting American AI AbroadStrategic Context and Program Objectives The American AI Exports Program is an ambitious and essential proposal to expand the reach of American AI technologies in foreign mar...
By Janet Egan, Geoffrey Gertz, Daniel Remler & Ruby Scanlon
-
Podcast
Technology & National Security
Defense One Radio, Ep. 200: Paul Scharre Explains the Global AI Arms RacePaul Scharre, executive vice president at the Center for a New American Security, joined Defense One to discuss science and technology. The former Army Ranger explored how AI ...
By Paul Scharre
