Some time ago, the Crown City Magazine team interviewed retired U.S. Navy Captain George Galdorisi about his book, Fire and Ice. This month, we spoke with him about artificial intelligence, the technology that is the subject of his most recent book, Algorithms of Armageddon: The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Future Wars, published by the U.S. Naval Institute Press and released this spring.

To say that artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology that has dominated the news over the past several years is an understatement. Unfortunately, there are a few issues today where there is more heat than light. Galdorisi explained that the subject of artificial intelligence has triggered not only intense interest, but also (often shrill) opinions from voices pro and con regarding what AI might do in our society, let alone how it might change warfare as we know it.

We wanted to follow up with him regarding how and why what is happening in the AI-realm has evolved so rapidly over the past few years, so we asked George this basic question: Could anyone have predicted some of the headline-grabbing events surrounding AI that have occurred in just the past few months?

He noted that “A1 technology has dominated the media over the last year in ways that few could have envisioned. We have seen the controversy regarding generative AI such as ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing, and especially their promise and their peril. Additionally, we have seen some calls for a complete pause in AI development.”

He went on to explain, “This frenzy to ‘rein in’ AI has reached a fever pitch with many influencers calling for a brake on AI development. Geoffrey Hinton, widely recognized as the ‘Godfather of AI,’ quit his job at Google to ‘freely speak out about the risks of AI.’ Among other statements, Hinton said: ‘AI technologies pose profound risks to society and humanity.’”

Galdorisi added: “Perhaps no tech leader has been more vocal regarding the dangers of AI than Elon Musk, who opines across multiple media.”

Musk expressed worry about the state of the AI race, noting that an open letter signed by nearly 200 technology leaders and researchers that urged companies to pause development of powerful AI systems for at least six months to prevent profound risks to society, “was a cautionary message and deserved to be out there.” Later in the interview, Pixhai declared, “We are working with a technology that has the potential to cause harm in a deep way.”

Responding to these concerns, our national leaders have weighed in. A New York Times article noted that the Biden administration “is confronting the rapidly expanding use of artificial intelligence, warning of the dangers the technology poses to public safety, privacy and democracy while having limited authority to regulate it.”

Galdorisi noted, “Unsurprisingly, the fears that AI will usher in dystopian scenarios has once again made its way into popular culture, with the 2023 streaming series, Mrs. Davis, whose high concept revolves around a future society where humans outsource their brain work to machines and calamity ensues. Reviewers called the series ‘intriguing’ and noted that they were ‘hooked.’ This exemplifies the depth of the fears of AI.”

Against this backdrop of concerns regarding AI in the civilian sector, we asked George how this controversy translates into the military realm. He answered, “That’s a great question. When it comes to the issue of inserting AI into military platforms, systems, sensors and weapons the arguments pro and con regarding AI go into overdrive. While some are of the opinion that the United States must win the AI arms race with our peer competitors, China and Russia, others make the argument that the U.S. military will lose control of its AI-enabled tools and that disaster will ensue.”

He went on to add: “Fortunately, senior leaders in the Department of Defense have been proactive in reminding the American public of the existential threat peer competitors with AI-enabled military forces pose if the U.S. military cannot counter them with similar platforms, systems, sensors and weapons. In an address at the Reagan National Defense Forum, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated that: ‘DoD wants to successfully lead the AI Revolution.’ Deputy Secretary of Defense, Dr. Kathleen Hicks, emphasized the importance of AI technologies for the U.S. military to: ‘Provide operational commanders with data-driven technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation.’”

Going further, Galdorisi noted: “A front-page article in The New York Times quoted the Pentagon’s chief information officer, John Sherman, regarding the national security imperative to continue AI development, with Sherman stating: ‘If we stop, guess who’s not going to stop: potential adversaries overseas. We’ve got to keep moving. The Chinese won’t wait, and neither will the Russians.’”

Given the wide spectrum of arguments regarding the U.S. military employing AI-enabled weapons, we asked George if he thought that there are things that all of us, as citizens, should do.

“Yes I do,” he concluded. “America needs a national dialogue to determine the risks and rewards of AI-development, and a large part of that discussion should be focused on the need for the U.S. military to have access to the latest AI-enabled technology to provide for the security and prosperity of the American people. An informed and engaged public can be a powerful tool to ensure that this occurs.”

George reminded us that in addition to writing books, he likes nothing more than connecting with readers. You can follow him on Facebook and Twitter, and learn more about his books, blogs and other writing on his website: georgegaldorisi.com.

In September 2024, the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, issued her Chief of Naval Operations Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy. This Navigation Plan embodies “Project 33” in recognition of the fact that Admiral Franchetti is the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations. Project 33 sets targets for enabling the U.S. Navy to make strategically meaningful gains in the fastest possible time.

Read the Full Article Below

The U. S. Navy stands at the precipice of a new era of technology
advancement. In an address at a military-industry conference,
then-U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Michael Gilday,
revealed the Navy’s goal to grow to 500 ships, to include 350
crewed ships and 150 uncrewed maritime vessels. This plan has
been dubbed the “hybrid fleet.” More recently,the current CNO,
Admiral Lisa Franchetti, has stressed the importance of the hybrid
fleetin her NavigationPlan forAmerica’sWarfighting Navy.

Read the Full Article Below Beginning on Page 73.

The U.S. Navy has been forthcoming and transparent in its strategies designed to ensure peace and stability on the
global commons working with allies and partners. These strategies have contributed to the security and prosperity
of all nations touched by the oceans.

Whether manifested in documents such as the Department of
the Navy Strategic Guidance, Advantage at Sea: Prevailing with
IntegratedAll Domain NavalPower, orAmericasWarfighting
Navy, these high-level documents provide a clear vision of
how the U.S. Navy intends to accomplish these goals.

Read the Full Article Below Beginning at Page 65.

https://oceanroboticsplanet.com/tportal_upload/md_publications/rovplanet_42.pdf

The U.S. Navy stands at the precipice of a new era of technology advancement. In an address at a military-industry conference, then chief of naval operations, Adm. Michael Gilday, revealed the Navy’s goal to grow to 500 ships, to include 350 crewed ships and 150 uncrewed maritime vessels. This plan has been dubbed the “hybrid fleet.” More recently, the current chief of naval operations, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, has stressed the importance of the hybrid fleet in her “Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy.”

The reason for this commitment to uncrewed maritime vessels is clear. During the height of the Reagan defense buildup in the mid-1980s, the Navy evolved a strategy to build a “600-ship Navy.” That effort resulted in a total number of ships that reached 594 in 1987. That number has declined steadily during the past three-and-a-half decades, and today the Navy has less than half the number of commissioned ships. However, the rapid growth of the technologies that make uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) increasingly capable and affordable has provided the Navy with a way to put more hulls in the water.

Read more about the U.S. Navy’s hybrid fleet strategy

By George Galdorisi and Sam J.

Tangredi. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval

Institute Press, 2024. 231 pages.

$29.95

ISBN: 978-1-61251-541-0

This timely book is a much-needed

clear presentation for the layman on artificial intelligence

and the need for the nation’s military establishment to

understand AI and its defense applications and to add

its technology to the nation’s sensors, weapons, C4ISR

systems and platforms. The authors, two retired Navy

captains who are prominent analysts of naval affairs,

stress the need to achieve asymmetrical advantage in

AI, particularly in the arms race with China and Russia.

They expand their discussion to include how AI interacts

with other technologies such as autonomous systems,

machine learning and with people, and with potential

effects on warfighting. This book will help readers keep

up with the rapidly accelerating technology of AI.

In September 2024, the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, issued her Chief of Naval Operations Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy. This Navigation Plan embodies “Project 33” in recognition of the fact that Admiral Franchetti is the 33rd Chief of Naval Operations. Project 33 articulates two overarching objectives: an imperative to be ready for the possibility of war with the People’s Republic of China by 2027 and enhancing the Navy’s long-term advantage. This Plan has several components:

The readiness component of the Navigation Plan has the goal of eliminating ship, submarine and aircraft maintenance delays and restoring critical infrastructure that sustains and projects the fight from shore.

The people component of the Navigation Plan describes the goal of recruiting and retaining the force needed to fill officer, chief petty officer and enlisted ranks and delivering a quality of service for Navy personnel.

The operational component of the Navigation Plan involves creating upgraded command centers for the Navy Fleet Commanders and training for combat to ensure that the Navy has a warfighting advantage over its adversaries.

Finally, the goal to scale robotic and autonomous systems to integrate more platforms at speed focuses on capitalizing on the inherent advantages of uncrewed systems. This is perhaps the most intriguing part of the CNO’s Navigation Plan.

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The U.S. Marine Corps has spent more than 75 years honing the ability to assault a heavily defended beach, beginning with the famed island-hopping campaigns in the Pacific during World War II. In that time, the service has updated its tactics, techniques, and procedures and embraced new technology to maximize the success of these assaults and minimize the loss of sailors and Marines.

Far less attention has been paid to what happens after the initial assault. Enabling Marines to move beyond the beach depends on the assaulting force being able to provide continuous contested-logistics support. Unlike armies in a land campaign, during which various vehicles can provide this support, the expeditionary strike group’s ships must deliver everything Marines need to sustain the fight. Until the Marine Corps can devise a way to do so without unsustainable losses, the assaulting force will never have the weapons, fuel, food, and gear it needs to move inland. Autonomous surface vessels could provide a solution.

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By any measure, one of the most exciting
advances in military technology is uncrewed systems.
While these technological innovations were developing
on a deliberate path over the past decade-plus, recent
conflicts have accelerated that progress.
Widely reported in the international media, Russia’s
use of armed unmanned air vehicles to attack targets
in Ukraine; Ukraine’s use of armed unmanned surface
vessels to attack Russian ships; the Houthi’s use of
both armed unmanned surface vessels and armed
unmanned air vehicles against shipping in the Red Sea;
Hamas and Hezbollah forces unleashing scores of armed
unmanned air vehicles against Israel of other clashes
in just the last few years; all have made it clear that
uncrewed platforms have gained purchase in military
organizations worldwide.

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The challenge of providing logistics sustainment to forces in the field is not a new phenomenon. Over 2,500 years ago, Sun Tzu noted, “The line between disorder and order lies in logistics.” One need not be a historian to understand the importance of logistics to warfare over many millennia. From Alexander the Great (who noted: “My logisticians are a humorless lot…they know if my campaign fails, they are the first ones I will slay”) to Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan (“Logistics are as vital to military success as daily food is to daily work”) to General Robert Barrow, then-Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, who coined a phrase that is still a staple of U.S. War College curricula: “Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.”

Navy-Marine Corps amphibious operations represent perhaps the one area where logistics cannot fail. Once Marines are on the beach, they have few options to continue the fight if their logistics train breaks down—and might even have to withdraw. The prospect of assaulting a hostile shore today is more daunting than ever. The capacity of Marines to seize the beach and push inland depends on the security of their logistical support.

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