In a conflict scenario, artificial intelligence can assist the warfighter in discerning what is happening in the environment and better understand the tactics the adversary might use, thereby improving decision-making, said Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.
Michael provided the keynote address at the National Defense Industrial Association in Washington today. He also held a media roundtable immediately after the address.
AI takes language or equations, synthesizes the information and can provide answers that are beyond the computational power of the human brain in a short time frame, he explained.
Uses for AI are endless and include creating new materials, assisting Defense Department employees and contractors, modeling and simulation, and the Golden Dome, Michael said.
Private industry is investing hundreds of billions of dollars each year into AI for things like software development, chips, data centers and so on, he said.
Besides AI, another dual-use technology with both military and civilian applications is space-launched technology, such as satellites, he said, noting that private industry has footed most of the bill.
Other nascent critical areas for DOD are hypersonics, directed energy, unmanned aerial vehicles and critical minerals, he said, highlighting that the importance of UAVs on the battlefield was demonstrated in the recent Israel-Iran conflict, as well as in Ukraine.
UAVs can go from start to prototype in 18 months, something that can't be done with manned aircraft, Michael said, adding that the systems can be user tested by warfighters, and the best ones can be quickly fielded.
As for enemy drones such as those used by the Houthis, it doesn't make sense to shoot them down with missiles that cost millions, he said. This is where directed energy can be used to good effect.
Michael said to get all these innovations moving, industry needs to share risk with the department.
"It's a balance," he said. "When there's more shared risk, both sides can take more risks, and that will lead to speed, that will lead to invention and so on."