Deploying AI in defense organizations

We surveyed 250 defense technology leaders from around the world to understand how defense organizations are using AI and how this technology will shape military operations going forward.

This image features an abstract radar design in varying shades of purple and blue. Concentric circles radiate from the center, intersected by a single light blue line and an 'X' mark near the top. The visual style is modern and minimalistic, with a cool color palette and geometric shapes. No text, numbers, or identifiable brands are visible.

By

Dan Chenok

Executive Director

IBM Center for The Business of Government chenokd@us.ibm.com

Leendert van Bochoven

Global Defence and Intelligence Leader

IBM L_van_Bochoven@nl.ibm.com

David Zaharchuk

Research Director

IBM Institute for Business Value David.zaharchuk@us.ibm.com

Artificial intelligence (AI) has radically redefined many aspects of everyday life. Organizations across both the public and private sectors are exploiting AI for a wide array of applications. For defense organizations, AI solutions also present significant opportunities to improve mission effectiveness.

In late 2020, we surveyed 250 defense technology leaders from around the world to understand how defense organizations are using AI and how this technology will shape military operations going forward. This report highlights insights from this research on the state of AI planning and adoption across defense organizations, as well as participants’ perspectives on where AI can drive value.

In addition, we shared these insights with a roundtable of global defense experts, and those discussions provided additional input and context for this report. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of all participants.

We hope this report provides leaders across the global defense community useful insights that can assist their organizations in realizing the promise and potential of AI. Stay tuned for future reports, where we will explore further insights on how defense organizations can leverage AI for mission success.