Artificial Intelligence and a Reconfiguration of Military Power
“Artificial Intelligence and a Reconfiguration of Military Power,” By Elise Annett and Dr. James Giordano, Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS).
In a recent Strategic Insights article published by INSS, Annett and Giordano argue that AI reconfigures how militaries exercise power, authority, and decision-making. The authors describe AI systems across Department of War networks as “epistemic actors” that determine “which data are viable and valuable,” prioritize patterns, and present “actionable options” to commanders.
AI compresses cycles of sensing, analysis, and response, and it curates the information environment within command-and-control constructs such as JADC2, shaping what commanders see and how they act. The authors call for doctrine and governance that codify AI-mediated decision authority, preserve command accountability, and address escalation dynamics and data manipulation risks.
Introduction
Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering Emil Michael has emphasized that the Department of War has historically under-deployed artificial intelligence (AI) and that the current moment demands rapid, enterprise-wide integration of AI capabilities across the DoW workforce to better support both efficiency and warfighting functions.
AI as a Strategic Actor in the Battlespace
AI systems employed across DoW networks increasingly function as epistemic actors…They determine which data are viable and valuable, which patterns are prioritized, and how actionable options are presented to commanders. Under these conditions, decision superiority emerges less from better sensors or faster weapons, and more from control over the decision environment itself.
AI Strategy and National Power
The Artificial Intelligence Strategy for the Department of War establishes AI as a central pillar of national power…Increasingly, AI is regarded as an enabling element of state capacity, by virtue of its capacity to shape and bolster military effectiveness, prompt industrial vitality, and leverage diplomacy.
Operational Velocity, Cognitive Integration, and Strategic Risk
AI compresses temporal cycles of sensing, analysis, and response to reshape the pace of tactical engagement(s) and strategically relevant decision-making, to alter how legitimacy is conferred upon military decisions and how political control is exercised over force…As these systems are embedded across command-and-control constructs such as Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), human judgment interacts with algorithmic prioritizations rather than unfiltered situational data.
Strategic Competition and Incentive Structures
State actors are advancing concepts of ‘intelligentized warfare’ emphasize iterative use of AI within and across operational domains as a defining feature of future conflict…The imperative to accelerate incorporation of AI (and other emerging critical technologies) can reduce institutional tolerance for deep evaluation, debate, and recalibration of research, development and operational goals and tempo…
Weighing Systemic Consequences
AI introduces systemic dependencies that center on data validity and integrity, model robustness and reliability, and resilience of information infrastructures that undergird contemporary military operations…Adversaries’ exploitation of AI algorithms, purloinment and corruption of data, and manipulation of AI-based models create new vectors and opportunities for incurring disruptive and/or destructive effects without direct kinetic engagement.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In conclusion, we maintain that the progressive integration of AI within the military constitutes a reconfiguration of agency, and is not merely a technological evolution. Decisions about the use of force will be increasingly defined by AI mediation, priorities, and compressed temporal scales.
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