Artificial Intelligence in the US Military Training and Simulation Industry, 2020

The Latest Technological Innovations Ensure Enhanced Personnel Readiness

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a key driver for Industry 4.0, with the potential to disrupt numerous business verticals. The technology’s ability to perform human-like cognitive functions such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, planning, and self-correction, and to make decisions based on simulations drives its large-scale adoption. Currently, North America is a leader in the AI technology market, primarily attributed to the presence of leading information and communication technology companies such as Microsoft, Google, and IBM, as well as many funding agencies willing to invest in the technology. In early 2019, the Department of Defense issued its AI strategy, setting guidelines for the development and implementation of the technology in military operations.

AI enables the creation of a cognitive system that has the capability to process, analyze, and scale data, and communicate seamlessly with interconnected machines. The intelligence allows machines to independently make decisions without human intervention. A learning capability with algorithms further enhances AI by empowering machines to extract lessons from their own past experiences, just like humans.

The main goal of the US military’s AI strategy is to improve the readiness of troops and increase lethality, allowing the military to face non-conventional adversaries and from new fronts at a time when its structure is being reorganized to integrate a new generation of soldiers and a technology-skilled workforce.

The US military is no stranger to the transformations that are occurring worldwide thanks to the emergence of new technologies. AI plays a key role in this transformation, enhancing current technological capabilities and paving the way for the development of new applications and solutions.

This report explores the use of AI to deliver military training in the United States, summarizing the potential benefits and current limitations of the technology in the area. It identifies some of the key players in the market, highlighting companies that are developing disruptive applications that will impact military training in the near future. This study identifies growth opportunities and calls to action.

Key Issues Addressed

• What are the processes behind AI and how is the technology evolving to perform better and more efficiently?
• How do AI and their sub-technologies fit into the digital transformation that is underway in the US military?
• What is the potential impact of AI on the way training is designed and delivered in the US military?
• What projects involving AI in training and simulation are currently in development?