Modern War Institute

In this episode, MWI's John Amble talks to Martha Wells, author of the four-volume science fiction series The Murderbot Diaries. She discusses how the books' central figure—a hybrid being with living tissue but equipped with artificial intelligence—can help us think about robotics, AI, and manned-unmanned teaming on the future battlefield.

This episode of the MWI Podcast features a conversation with Matt Larsen, known in many corners of the Army as the father of the modern combatives. He explains why he thinks combatives training is so important, but he also talks a lot about the notion of a warrior ethos—what it is and why, as he argues, it’s something that needs to exist throughout the entire Army, not just in infantry or other combat arms units.

Paul Scharre is the author of Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War. In this episode, he talks about the state of development of artificial intelligence and autonomy, and how it and future advancements will change the way in which we fight wars.

This episode features a conversation about innovation and the future battlefield and features two guests perfectly suited to discuss those topics. Maj. Gen. John George is the deputy director of the Army’s Futures and Concepts Center will soon take over as the commander of the Combat Capabilities Development Command. And Mr. Jay Harrison serves as the command innovation officer at Army Futures Command.

In this episode, MWI's John Amble speaks to Robert Work, former deputy secretary of defense. He describes his expectations for the future of conflict, including the role unmanned and autonomous systems are likely to play, how the way the military acquires new equipment will change, and more.

This episode features a conversation with Dr. Amy Kruse, chief scientific officer at the Platypus Institute. She discusses "Human 2.0," a concept she describes a vision of where humans are headed in terms of cognitive performance. She also describes how this concept overlays on what we know about the cognitive demands of war.

In this episode of the MWI Podcast, John Amble talks to Dr. Moriba Jah, an aerospace engineer who has worked for NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory. He is now an associate professor at the University of Texas, where he monitors space and works to track thousands of objects—a number that continues to grow—orbiting Earth.

In this episode, we talk to retired Army Col. Peter Newell about Hacking 4 Defense, a program that leverages the unique qualities of universities and private-sector startups to find solutions for government—especially the defense enterprise.

In this episode, we speak to Elsa Kania, whose research is at the forefront of efforts to better understand the way China approaches innovation and military technology. From artificial intelligence to automation to railgun technology, we discuss Chinese technological priorities and how they overlay on its strategic objectives.

In this episode of the MWI Podcast, Maj. Jake Miraldi is joined by retired Col. Frank Sobchak, one of the authors of the Army's 1,300-page, two-volume study of the Iraq War. He discusses how the study came into being and why it's important, along with its major conclusions about the war and why its release was delayed for more than two years.