Modern Solution, Ancient Problem: Measuring Military Effectiveness in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Brad DeWees
July 9, 2018
A likely apocryphal exchange after the Vietnam War captured the problem of fighting without keeping effectiveness in mind: An American colonel tells a Vietnamese colonel, “You know, you never defeated us on the battlefield.†“That may be so,†replies the Vietnamese colonel, “but it is also irrelevant.â€
“What effect?†is a fundamental, though often overlooked, question in national security: What effect did an action have on an adversary, and did it bring us closer to our goals? This question can be asked about a foot patrol to greet local leaders, a bomb dropped on an insurgent position, a cyber operation to shut down an electric grid, or the awesome display of an aircraft carrier in plain sight of an adversary. The question applies equally to senior policymakers and to junior tacticians. Ignoring it at any level can have grave consequences, not least a tendency to win battles while losing wars.
https://warontherocks.com/2018/07/modern-solution-ancient-problem-measuring-military-effectiveness-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence/
