Artificial Intelligence and Robotics on the Battlefields of 2020

Abstract

The incredible speed at which computer power is increasing will soon make available exotic technologies, which may provide significant strategic and operational advantages on future battlefields. Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (AI&R) are two such technologies. Though they are not yet viable, trends indicate that in the coming decades they may become as fully incorporated into our society as the INTERNET is today. If strategic and operational military planners are to effectively incorporate Al&R into the future military force, they must contemplate its potential today. This paper looks twenty years to the future, envisions the future battlefield environment, and proposes a military role for AI&R in the year 2020.