Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

“I’m extremely proud of the Space Force and all the good it has accomplished. But, as good as we are, as much as we’ve done, as far as we’ve come, it’s not enough. We are not yet optimized for Great Power Competition.”

~ Chief of Space Operations
Gen. Chance Saltzman

The establishment of the U.S. Space Force was a direct response to threats arising from Great Power Competition in the space domain. Nevertheless, our legacy roots leave us sub-optimized for the security environment confronting us today, and we must finish fine-tuning the service to continue meeting its National Defense Strategy responsibilities

In early 2024, the Department of the Air Force unveiled sweeping plans for reshaping, refocusing, and reoptimizing the Air Force and Space Force to ensure continued supremacy in their respective domains while better posturing the services to deter and, if necessary, prevail in an era of Great Power Competition. Through a series of 24 DAF-wide key decisions, four core areas which demand the Department’s attention will be addressed: Develop People, Generate Readiness, Project Power and Develop Capabilities.

The space domain is no longer benign; it has rapidly become congested and contested.

We must enhance our capabilities, develop Guardians for modern warfare, prepare for the high intensity fight, and strengthen our power projection to thrive and win in this new era of Great Power Competition.

Video by Kevin D Schmidt

2023 Autonomous Horizons Part 2

Air Force Research Laboratory

Sept. 8, 2023 | 57:47

In this 2-part edition of QuEST, U.S. Air Force Senior Scientist and QuEST co-founder Dr. Steven K. “Cap” Rogers, ACT3 Chief Technology Officer Dr. Michael J. Mendenhall, ACT3 Chief Scientist Dr. Gilbert L. Peterson, and ACT3 Senior Scientist Dr. Kevin Schmidt discuss the 2019 publication Autonomous Horizons II: The Way Forward.

Key Moments and Questions in the videos include:
Discussion of October 2023 event “AI for Humanity” sponsored by AFRL
Clarifications among definitions of intelligence, consciousness, and qualia
Historical perspective from Cap on Autonomous Horizons origins
Groundwork for report - A2/AD operational space and implications for ‘intelligent autonomy’
Multiple streams of research and development leading to a common framework for responsible autonomous systems
Question for group: What is cybernetics?
Question: Shouldn’t we also have the inverse of “Cognitive computational models of humans for systems” to account for human understanding of systems logic?
Example architectural pattern for autonomous system development; building a better human-machine interface
Human-like dialogue as explanations from the system to the human; experience versus explainability
Distinction between explicit and implicit as relating to consciousness