36. Clausewitz and Artificial Intelligence

In this episode, we're exploring the limitations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in making or advising on command decisions in war. With many advocates of AI suggesting that it will transform war, it's worth going back Clausewitz and what he teaches us about the nature of war. War cannot be reduced to algorithms, says Clausewitz, and so AI will only ever have a limited role in war - unless there's a major paradigm shift in how AI is developed.

To explain this argument further, we have Dr Cameron Hunter (University of Copenhagen, Denmark) on the show to tell us that, at present, AI can only do deductive and inductive reasoning, and so will never be able to grapple with the nuances of policy, strategy, and command. Because AI can only look for patterns in the available data, it cannot predict how the enemy might adapt and respond, nor can it account for chance or other intangible factors that shape war.