Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence   by Paul Scharre W.W. Norton , 2023, 473 pp Hardcover ISBN 9780393866865 Paperback ISBN: 9781324074779 REVIEWED BY: John Nash   There are few hotter topics in military and strategic studies (and economics, technology, and more) than artificial intelligence (AI). Like with all new technology, commentary runs from the hyperbolic to the scornful. Finding the true promise is often difficult, and perhaps especially so with as polarising a technology as AI, not least …

QNG23 Challenge Outcomes This post continues a series on quantum technologies. It details outcomes and findings from the Army Quantum Next Generation Minesweeper Challenge 2023 . Landmines and buried ordinances pose a significant danger in warzones, extending through active conflict and lingering as a threat in the aftermath. Finding and clearing landmines is both a valuable military capability and a humanitarian tool. Existing methods of minefield clearance are slow and dangerous, relying on ground teams …

The advent of widely available Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Meta AI, represents the most significant advance in AI to date. This new technology presents new risks too. Well-known examples include bias, hallucination, theft of intellectual property (IP), and lack of transparency. [1] These dangers certainly raise questions over the suitability of using LLMs in the military.  To date, security experts have mainly focused on the risks of this new AI technology through the lens of …

2(AS) Division PME Program Small Uncrewed Air Systems, The Threats They Pose and How To Counter Them SPEAKER :  Dr Carl Rhodes   In the 2024 National Defence Strategy  (NDS) and Integrated Investment Program  (IIP), un-crewed or robotic and autonomous systems are mentioned a total of 57 times. [1] Clearly this is an area of significant interest and concern for the Australian Government. But why are these systems without humans useful and what need do they fill? Additionally, if our adversaries are using …

Context Australia’s strategic geography will continue to present new challenges and opportunities into the future. The nation will remain an enormous landmass with a small population at the bottom of Asia. Yet, no longer is our region a strategic backwater with geographic depth. Our historic geographic advantage is being eroded by grey zone actions, the reach and lethality of modern weapons, the potency of anti-access and area-denial (A2AD) systems, and the broader modernisation of other nations’ military …

With the advancement of technology and the accelerated rate of disruptive engagements, militaries are exploring swarm-related capabilities across several lines of effort, spanning from concepts to research and physical trials. In response, this AARC Occasional Paper outlines the current state of swarm and counter-swarm research and technologies through a high-level review of academic, industry and coalition partner efforts. … Swarming and …

  In February 2022, Russian forces streamed into Ukraine under what Russian President Vladimir Putin called a ‘special military operation’ to achieve objectives including ‘denazification, demilitarisation and its neutral status’. The early weeks of the conflict found Russia struggling to achieve its objectives despite many military experts’ predictions that Ukraine would fall quickly. Over two years later, the conflict continues, and uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) have made significant contributions to the …

A Comparative Analysis of Amphibious Operations in the Pacific and European Theatres of the Second World War    Within Occasional Paper Number 23 , author Richard Bushby compares WW2 Allied amphibious operations in the European and Mediterranean theatres with those conducted in the central Pacific theatre. The article further examines the relationship between amphibious techniques and broader concepts of strategy and operational art. … Occasional Paper 23 release - From The …

  Introduction The Ukraine war has thrust small drones into the spotlight as an integral component of contemporary combined arms warfare. Cheap, plentiful, and attritable commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) drones (sometimes referred to as ‘wedding drones’ with equal parts respect and derision) [i] have proven their utility for military roles such as dropping explosive ordnance onto targets and performing intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) activities. [ii] Both of these capability effects …

  Biological Swarms The concept of swarms originates in nature, often referred to as biological systems or natural swarms. [1] Swarm intelligence (SI) research originally pertained to studying the self-organised behaviours of social insects. [2] An example of the SI demonstrated by social insects is provided in a 2004 study on ant colonies building networks of galleries which demonstrate path system efficiency. [3] The intelligence that emerges from collective behaviour has been harnessed in robotics …