Project Maven has made huge strides in its first year, but the key is remaining open to updates from whoever has the best idea for new algorithms, and new code, a military leader says.

“If you look back at the Iraq war, one of the most dangerous duties was driving, riding in a convoy between Kuwait City and Baghdad. We lost many, many soldiers, too many soldiers, to IED (roadside bomb) attacks, other attacks on convoys,” Esper said. “I could’ve reduced that vulnerability, that sacrifice, (with) unmanned convoys or convoys that were manned by (only) a couple of soldiers.”

“If at some point in future, you need to expand your capability, expand your military,” Maj. Gen. Ryan said, “Australia’s at the end of a very long line of industrial resupply, and we might want to have the capacity ourselves.”

The Pentagon wants its new AI center up and running in six months, but is taking a different track on directed energy and hypersonics, Deputy Defense Secretary Shanahan says.

Pentagon brass are taking a look at what chaff can be cut in order to push along weapons systems like lasers and hypersonics. And they have some powerful Capitol Hill allies.

The Pentagon is moving out quickly to get in front of Chinese advances in artificial intelligence, and is rushing a plan up to Capitol Hill to work with the intel community more closely.

This week’s experiment used a small zoo of specialized systems remote-controlled by humans, each with its own modest niche, working closely with each other and human forces.

While countries like Russia and China are investing heavily in artificial intelligence without restraints, the US and allied militaries like South Korea face a rising tide of opposition.

“Is this possible? Probably,” one retired Army officer told me. “Are the Russians trying to figure out how to disable all the M1s so they can run over us with their robots? I hope that’s where they’re spending their time.”

What mission does the Army really need armed robots for — expendable scouts, perhaps, or supplementary fire support? And does buying robots for that role really offer more tactical value than spending the same money on mundane upgrades to, say, self-propelled artillery?