The Economist - How AI is changing warfare
An AI-assisted general staff may be more important than killer robots
In late 2021, the Royal Navy approached Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, two American tech giants, with a crucial inquiry: Was there a more efficient way to conduct warfare? Specifically, they wanted to explore a more effective method for coordinating between a hypothetical commando strike team in the Caribbean and a frigate's missile systems. These tech companies partnered with BAE Systems, a leading arms manufacturer, and Anduril, a smaller yet innovative firm, along with other military contractors. Remarkably, within just 12 weeks—an extraordinarily swift timeline for defense procurement—the consortium convened in Somerset, UK, for a demonstration of the project named StormCloud.
The setup featured marines on the ground, drones in the air, and various other sensors all connected through a "mesh" network of advanced radios. This network enabled each participant to have a real-time, comprehensive view of the situation—a configuration that had previously allowed marines to outmaneuver much larger forces in earlier exercises. The data collected were processed both at the "edge" of the network, using small, rugged computers mounted on commando vehicles, and on distant cloud servers to which the data were transmitted.