Nov. 13, 2018

PRISM Volume 7, no. 4 - Now Online!

The newest edition of PRISM is now online. With this edition, PRISM completes our seventh volume and prepares to move toward full peer review status next year. The edition is non-themed but offers several features that highlight the importance of innovation and non-kinetic warfare. Among the distinguished authors are a former Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, the Director of Strategic Operational Planning at the National Counterterrorism Center, and a senior executive with the U.S. Department of Treasury. The edition also features a senior executive with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, who is distinguished alumnus from NDU's Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy, as well as several military alum from NDU's Joint and combined Warfighting School. Hard copies will be available early in the new year.

Nov. 8, 2018

The Machine Beneath: Implications of Artificial Intelligence in Strategic Decisionmaking

Despite the risks posed by the adaptation of AI to military affairs, the United States must seek to be at the forefront of this technology. It is unthinkable that America will cede this new territory to our competitors, such as China and Russia, who are aggressively pursuing it. Even if the United States decided to opt out of this arms race, it would have little effect, as the technologies described in this paper are inherently dual use, and the private sector around the globe will pursue them with abandon. Ethicists, weapon engineers, and military leaders are already hard at work on the challenges associated with designing and deploying battlefield lethal autonomous weapons systems. With this article, the authors hope to begin a new conversation, highlighting and differentiating the risks posed by employing strategic AI in military decisionmaking, particularly as the pace of warfare accelerates.