AI In Warfighting: New Conflicts, And New Philosophies

InnovationAIAI In Warfighting: New Conflicts, And New PhilosophiesByJohn Werner,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I am an MIT Senior Fellow & Lecturer, 5x-founder & VC investing in AIFollow AuthorMay 07, 2026, 04:10pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Artificial Intelligence for drone ControlgettyIt’s a time of war, prominently, as the global markets and the global community react to a conflict that has impacted supply chains and disrupted commodities markets.What does AI have to do with it? Well, right now, there’s a lot of work on the automation of defense applications, again, in the U.S. and around the world. This is one area where AI seems to have a lot of potential, but also generates a good deal of fear, around autonomous lethal weapons and other kinds of high-stakes operations that concern the population of the world.Here’s an extract from a DoD memo dated Jan. 9 of this year:“In the national security domain, AI-enabled warfare and AI-enabled capability development will re-define the character of military affairs over the next decade. This transformation is a race - fueled by the accelerating pace of commercial AI innovation coming out of America's private sector.”What does it mean to dominate in AI?Notes from BostonIn April, I sat in on a panel discussion at the Imagination in Action event that we hold each year at MIT.Erik Bethel of Mare Liberum, Nathan Michael, CTO of Shield AI, Rylan Hamilton, CEO and co-founder of Blue Water Autonomy, and Tucker Hamilton, author and former co-director of the MIT AI accelerator, talked about war and the role of artificial intelligence.MORE FOR YOUThe panel started with a clear-eyed assessment of the reality around asymmetric systems.“Oil prices are spiking,” Bethel said. “Helium is spiking. You need helium to make semiconductors, urea, fertilizers. Well, the list goes on. But...