Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Charles Q. Brown, has called for allied militaries to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) in order to meet security challenges of the future.
Brown made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2024 South American Defense Conference (Southdec) in Santiago, Chile this week. The event was attended by representatives from North America, Europe, 10 South American nations, as well as Central American and Caribbean partner programs.
“As we look back on the strong foundations we’ve built through collaboration and trust, it’s clear our ability to address security challenges has also relied on our ability to evolve and adapt to the ever-changing world landscape,” said Brown, discussing the future role of AI.
“Every organization is looking at ways to improve their capability with this new technology,” Brown said. “[But] it’s not enough to just sprinkle ‘AI dust’ on everything and expect transformation.”
Air Force Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivers opening remarks during the South American Defense Conference 2024 in Santiago, Chile, Aug. 28, 2024. Brown has said he wants to unlock the “full potential” of AI.
Navy Chief Petty Officer James Mullen/DOD
Brown outlined the seven challenges he felt needed to be overcome to transform AI into a national security asset. These were: infrastructure, architecture, data, focus, resourcing, talent, and culture.
“These seven challenges … are challenges we all face,” Brown said. “But by working together, we can share knowledge, experience and solutions [that enable] us to unlock the full potential of this new technology within our network of allies and partners.”
Newsweek has contacted the Department of Defense (DOD) for additional comment via email.
In November, the DOD outlined its strategy to accelerate the adoption of AI in the realm of defense, which prescribed an “agile approach to AI development and application, emphasizing speed of delivery and adoption at scale.”
“Technologies evolve. Things are going to change next week, next year, next decade. And what wins today might not win tomorrow,” said DOD Chief Digital and AI Officer Craig Martell at the time.
“Rather than identify a handful of AI-enabled warfighting capabilities that will beat our adversaries, our strategy outlines the approach to strengthening the organizational environment within which our people can continuously deploy data analytics and AI capabilities for enduring decision advantage.”
Noah Sylvia, research analyst and the Royal United Services Institute think tank in the U.K., told Newsweek:”AI is not a technological revolution just around the corner. It is here now, with [machine learning] being actively used by militaries in combat today. Continuing AI procurement along this route will lead to militaries that are more capable, but less accountable to both commanders and the public.”
In 2023, a nuclear stealth bomber developed by Northrop Grumman for the U.S. Air Force was unveiled – the design and testing of which was expedited using digital AI-enabled simulations, one expert explained to Newsweek.
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