Human, Machine, War

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The U.S. military is often criticized for emphasizing the application of exquisite and ever more expensive technology over other factors in its conception of future warfare. Yet accurately anticipating the character of future wars, including the benefits and limitations of novel technologies, can confer an advantage to those prepared to intellectually wrestle with discerning the benefits of new capabilities while avoiding novel vulnerabilities. Advocates must also resolve the ethical issues that arise from the use of new weapons. The human-machine nexus is central to resolving that dilemma. A well-edited anthology, Human, Machine, War: How the Mind-Tech Nexus Will Win Future Wars seeks to advance our understanding of the necessary balance between human factors (cunning, the will to fight, resilience) and the potential advantages conferred by the disruptive technologies of this century.

In the introduction, the editors establish a clear theme: future success for the U.S. military depends on the proper interaction of human minds with technology. Victory will go to the side that can develop the dynamic product of human factors with the emerging technologies of our day (artificial intelligence [AI], quantum computing, neuroscience, and so forth). Mastering this convergence will shape the character of tomorrow’s wars and ensure successful outcomes. This purpose animates the 15 chapters and two concluding chapters of the edited volume.

The most powerful chapter is written by retired Air Force Lieutenant General John “Jack” Shanahan, the former director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center at the Pentagon. He anticipates a major revolutionary change in the character of warfare due to the current digital age coupled with the advent of generative AI. Shanahan is not pollyannish about AI. Shanahan recognizes that more advanced forms of AI are coming and that we are woefully unready to connect ourselves and an array of AI-enabled technologies into our command-and-control architectures. Since our experience with AI is constrained to narrow systems at present, we have little idea of the potentially hazardous implications of bolting together a suite of Human Machine Cognitive Collaboration (HMC)/Human Machine Combat Teams (HMT). “The future of human-system integration and HMC/HMT,” Shanahan warns, “calls for an updated systems theory-based approach to risk comprehension, risk acceptance, and risk management” (138).

Readers interested in human performance enhancement will find the chapters penned by James Giordano (chapter 2) and Nicholas Wright of value. Giordano directs the Institute for National Strategic Studies’ Center for Disruptive Technology and Future Warfare at the National Defense University and has an extensive background in defense-related applications of neuroscience. Wright provides two chapters, one devoted to enhancing human performance (chapter 8) and another that details how modern technology can be used to protect combat leaders and our civilian population against cognitive degradation or subversion (chapter 15). Wright, who regularly consults within the Defense Department, anticipates the eventual development of AI agents that evolve with their user. In assessing their utility, he concludes, “We will require AI agents to help us react at the speed and scale needed to compete, just as drones or humanoid robots in the physical world use tools and respond to our language commands. Over time, we humans will converge with these technologies, the humans and the tech enhancing each other to execute tasks more effectively” (170–1).

In an era of intense Great Power competition, attention must be dedicated to understanding what our rivals are doing and what concepts they are pursuing. Josh Baugham, an analyst at the Air University’s Chinese Aerospace Studies Institute, offers a cogently framed overview of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)’s explorations into “cognitive warfare” (chapter 12), which seeks to alter the beliefs, values, and emotions of targeted leaders or a selected population (also see “Cognitive Warfare: The Fight for Gray Matter in the Digital Gray Zone,” by Michael J. Cheatham et al., in JFQ 114 [3rd Quarter 2024]). Readers will want to examine Baugham’s coverage of Chinese research to understand how the PLA plans to conduct “cognitive confrontation” via social media and other information technologies.

Tim Grayson, a former Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program director, wrote a chapter (5) on how AI will alter the application of John Boyd’s famous observe, orient, decide, act (OODA) loop. Grayson’s emphasis on accelerating the speed of decisionmaking, rather than improving the quality of the information available to the user, is problematic. Boyd is often erroneously accused of the same fault. But there is more to getting inside your opponent’s OODA loop than simply making decisions faster. On the plus side, Grayson’s analysis provides a useful framework to ascertain where AI could optimally offload cognitive work from human operators.

The editors offer a set of conclusions from their volume but couple their collective assessment with one produced by a pair of AI-based models. This reviewer found the human version more interesting, especially with respect to the need “to reimagine entire processes and not only tinker incrementally with processes that already exist” (329). Instead of laminating AI on top of our current structures and way of operating, the editors stress the need to adapt to the power and limits of our new tools. The nonhuman models (OpenAI’s GPT4 and Anthropic’s Claude Opus) best captured Human, Machine, War’s central argument:

The book underscores that the effective use of technology in military contexts does not simply replace human judgment but rather complements and extends human capabilities. It highlights the necessity of maintaining a balance between technological reliance and human decisionmaking prowess to navigate the complexities of modern warfare. (340)

The future presents not only possibilities to advance the art and science of war but also areas of risk. We cannot rigidly hide behind tradition or the wisdom of the “Great Captains” from prior epochs. As the character of war evolves, we must expand our thinking to avoid any Maginot Lines in our minds. While laden with technological terms, Human, Machine, War’s exploration of the interface between human and supporting technologies is invaluable for enhancing our ability to navigate in the face of accelerating change. It is enthusiastically recommended for the joint warfighting community or anyone interested in winning future wars. JFQ