The rise of commercially viable generative artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to transform a wide range of sectors. This change will be especially profound in modern military education.
Generative AI will enable senior military and political leaders to pursue better tactical solutions to unexpected crises, solve more complex logistical and operational challenges, and deepen strategy. , we fundamentally reimagine wargames (analytical games that simulate aspects of war at a tactical, operational, or strategic level). thought.
art of war games
From the beginning, war games have aimed to provide commanders with realistic training that can only be gained through real-world experience.
First instituted by the Prussian General Staff in the early 1800s, war games that use highly detailed scale models and complex charts to calculate casualties are often used by commanders against real enemies. It serves as an educational exercise aimed at gaining experience.
By forcing commanders to adapt to enemy tactics and rely on their intuition to confront unexpected situations, war games are an attempt to reflect the human combat experience.
War games also provide a way to test operational plans, allowing leaders to gain experience in large-scale operational planning and address complex logistical challenges.
By being able to visualize vast distances on a single board, operational wargames allow you to test doctrine on a scale that most professional militaries cannot replicate.
(AP Photo/Ellen Knickmeyer)
From Japan's Midway attack, which was primarily practiced and planned using war games, to NATO's long-running series of naval combat games, such exercises are often a key part of operational planning.
Finally, war games provide the basis for a common strategic culture within a country's military and national security institutions. Because these exercises often reflect the crises that senior military and political leaders are most likely to face, war games provide an opportunity for officers to share their perspectives.
Generation AI
AI is already being used in active conflict settings, including with Israel in Gaza. The rise of generative AI is poised to revolutionize the practice of wargaming as an exercise in training human commanders, perfecting operational plans and doctrine, and developing a stronger strategic culture.
Similar to other strategy games like chess, danger and gogenerative AI will be able to challenge commanders' handling of battlefield tactics.
(AP Photo/Dan Barilty)
Rather than relying on human intuition, AI commanders can model enemy tactics almost perfectly, allowing opposing officers to train against a variety of modern forces at virtually no cost.
Given that AI systems are becoming increasingly customizable, commanders can also train against duplicates of themselves, helping them overcome their weaknesses.
This process could eventually extend to human-machine interaction. Advances in AI could give military leaders additional capabilities to handle advanced military AI and receive tactical advice from a broader perspective.
In addition to training commanders to face future battlefields, AI-enhanced wargames could also spur significant improvements in operational planning. Borrowed from commercial industry, AI has the potential to direct equipment and personnel to support specific campaign objectives while optimizing flexibility to respond to unexpected threats.
Given its vast computing power, AI war games allow professional military planners to test their assumptions against an almost infinite number of possible contingencies and enhance their internal decision-making processes. It also allows you to fine-tune existing models.
Finally, generative AI allows for the incorporation of more strategy into wargames, providing valuable insight and experience for both military and political leaders.
(U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean J. Stewart)
Prepare for uncertainty
In generating a wide range of foundational scenarios to guide gameplay, AI allows participants to consider a large number of possible developments, each branching into nearly infinite possibilities.
This allows participants to adapt to changes in each player's strategic calculus, such as alliance structures, economic considerations, political developments, and social trends that put pressure on real-world military strategy.
AI's ability to introduce new twists into gameplay, such as through incorrect AI assumptions, forces commanders to prepare for uncertainty and the “fog of war,” which increases the complexity of modern combat. This is a skill that is increasingly needed in today's environment.
AI-enhanced strategic wargames increase the likelihood that senior leaders will have to grapple with doubts about their own strategic principles, contributing to deeper discussions within their respective organizations.
Read more: Robots can outsmart us on virtual battlefields, so let's not let them take charge of real battlefields
military scientific revolution
The use of wargames as tactical, operational, and strategic exercises has been a hallmark of advanced militaries since World War I, with political and military leaders in ways unimaginable just a generation ago. We can now wage wars with complexities that we couldn't before.
The rise of generative AI and its contribution to wargaming may spark yet another revolution in the field of military science. These games will improve the realism of training exercises, prepare leaders for future conflicts, solve complex logistical challenges, and spark new innovations in comprehensive military strategy.
As modern combat becomes increasingly confusing and complex, properly teaching the art of war becomes even more important.
