AI IN DEFENSE

I’ve always been a curious person, and I think that’s reflected deeply in the career paths and intentional decisions I’ve made over the years. A big part of my professional journey has been working across different mission spaces, portfolios, and organizations; each with their own priorities, operational realities, leadership dynamics, and of course; their own approach to execution. One thing my curiosity has consistently pushed me toward is understanding more than just the, “What.”

I’m usually asking: How does this agency approach the mission? What’s the angle here? Why does their execution model differ from another organization pursuing a similar objective? And one thing I’ve learned across different mission spaces is this: while the objective may sound the same, the approach ALMOST never is.

That’s what led me to this question: How are other world leaders and defense organizations outside of the U.S. viewing AI in defense?

And the more I read, the more I noticed a pattern. The world generally agrees AI will reshape defense, readiness, deterrence, and decision advantage. The real difference is "How" nations plan to integrate it, govern it, and build trust around it. Some are emphasizing speed and operational advantage. In contrast, others are prioritizing ethics, interoperability, responsible AI, or human-machine integration.

Personally, I don’t think the defining factor will simply be who adopts AI first.

I think it will be who can responsibly operationalize it in the real world, across people, systems, governance, mission execution, most notoriously important... decision-making environments that are often far more complex than the technology itself.

And that’s the part of the conversation that stays with me most.