Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
This year saw major progress in the Pentagon’s years-long push to harness artificial intelligence — not for drones or “killer robots,” but for software tools that help staff officers bring some order to the chaos of modern conflict.
From the intelligence analysis algorithms of Project Maven, the seven-year-old granddaddy of military AI tools, to the data-sharing systems collectively known as CJADC2, 2024 has seen significant expansion in both capabilities and the number of people using them for real-world operations.
These unglamorous utilities matter, because the ultimate weapon is often not a weapon at all. Prussia united Germany in the 1800s in large part thanks to the superior organizational skills of its General Staff. The Nazi Panzers in 1940 didn’t outgun or outnumber their French opponents, but they had radios to coordinate mobile operations, while the French relied on landlines and signal flags. The Pentagon itself, today a byword for bureaucracy, was built in 16 months to house the massive administrative apparatus essential to running a global war.
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