The U.S. Navy has moved ahead in developing and fielding unmanned systems on, above, and under the ocean. Navy leaders envision a future in which manned and unmanned ships will sail side by side, and unmanned systems will operate over the horizon supported by shore-control facilities. The Navy is funding research and development for 215 projects related to artificial intelligence (AI), including greater autonomy for unmanned systems and aiding warfighter decision-making. Despite fielding physical systems, the Navy has not defined the training and education for operators and maintainers of AI systems. This despite a 2020 plan to educate and train Department of Defense (DoD) employees. The Department of the Navy (DoN) has released several strategy documents about AI and autonomous systems including the Strategy for Intelligent Autonomous Systems and the Unmanned Campaign Framework. Unfortunately, these documents both avoid discussion of how the Navy will train sailors or operate future unmanned systems.
The Navy has been slow to establish the necessary career frameworks for sailors that operate unmanned systems, while losing talented sailors to the private sector where their skills are in demand. As AI-enabled naval systems move from the lab to the battlefield, an educated and trained workforce must be ready to meet them.
Why the Navy Needs AI Talent in Uniform
For several years, across multiple defense strategy documents, the DoD has acknowledged the role that AI will play in the near and distant defense systems. The 2018 National Defense Strategy identifies advanced autonomous systems as a key modernizing capability and states that the DoD must broadly invest in these technologies. The 2020 DoD Education AI Strategy stated that the department must develop "world class" AI practitioners to make AI a reality within DoD. The National Security Commission on AI's final report recognizes the importance of talent, stating "The AI competition will not be won by the side with the best technology. It will be won by the side with the best, most diverse, and tech-savvy talent. The DoD . . . face an alarming talent deficit." The report recommends, among other actions, that digital talent must be organized into individual corps and that those within DoD with requisite digital talents should be able to spend a career within this specific career field.
The personnel with the skills to build and manage AI systems must have defined and approved career tracks that keep them in relevant jobs and provided them with the tools and continuing education to succeed for the duration. Those with the skills and motivation to work on AI projects will not want to spend several years on sea duty, away from the cutting edge of AI, to meet an undesired career goal
Continue reading: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2022/april/preparing-sailors-age-ai
The Navy has been slow to establish the necessary career frameworks for sailors that operate unmanned systems, while losing talented sailors to the private sector where their skills are in demand. As AI-enabled naval systems move from the lab to the battlefield, an educated and trained workforce must be ready to meet them.
Why the Navy Needs AI Talent in Uniform
For several years, across multiple defense strategy documents, the DoD has acknowledged the role that AI will play in the near and distant defense systems. The 2018 National Defense Strategy identifies advanced autonomous systems as a key modernizing capability and states that the DoD must broadly invest in these technologies. The 2020 DoD Education AI Strategy stated that the department must develop "world class" AI practitioners to make AI a reality within DoD. The National Security Commission on AI's final report recognizes the importance of talent, stating "The AI competition will not be won by the side with the best technology. It will be won by the side with the best, most diverse, and tech-savvy talent. The DoD . . . face
The personnel with the skills to build and manage AI systems must have defined and approved career tracks that keep them in relevant jobs and provided them with the tools and continuing education to succeed for the duration. Those with the skills and motivation to work on AI projects will not want to spend several years on sea duty, away from the cutting edge of AI, to meet an undesired career goal
Continue reading: https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2022/april/preparing-sailors-age-ai
