By Keith Couch
The military is and always has been at the center of America’s innovation economy. It is the central actor in the entrepreneurial state—otherwise known as pre-commercial R&D—that is the bedrock of high-tech innovation. Since the solidification of the relationship between the US Government, Private Industry, and Academia after World War II, the Department of Defense (DoD) has been the primary funder of the US' most significant technological breakthroughs. Only the military has the long-term time horizon, massive resources, life or death use cases, and strategic vision to make high-technology investments that have only the smallest chance of success but nonetheless must be made because the imperative in maintaining national security requires it. The Internet; the revolution in aerospace; modern biotechnology; advances in cyber-security; and the paradigm shift in the way that we work, live and play which is being generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data—all were catalyzed by the human, financial and intellectual capital of the DoD. It is an unpleasant reality for venture capitalists and those who wish to maintain the charade that the high-tech economy was born in a garage with the support of enterprising venture capitalists when, in fact, the primary entrepreneur and venture capitalist in the country is the United States military. Fundamentally, the DoD and its affiliates such as DARPA matter far more than Kleiner Perkins.
Complex current trends dramatically impact all stakeholders in the innovation economy. Herein, we will examine the profound technological, organizational, and human capital challenges that the Information Age presents for the Department of Defense and the Armed Services while suggesting solutions worthy of exploration. Indeed, as technology historians have noted, we are living in the 4th Industrial Age or rather the second half of the Information Technology Age. As is always the case, there are opportunities and challenges. The 1st Industrial Age began in the late 18th century, and it was characterized by the mechanical advancements of the steam engine and assorted mechanical production equipment that allowed us to transcend the limitations of human and animal labor. The 2nd Industrial Age began in the late 19th century, and it was an electrical revolution that enabled the mass production of the goods and services that characterize modern consumer life. The 3rd Industrial Age or first half of the Information Age began in the late 1960s as an outgrowth of DoD investments during the Space Race. It has featured the mainstream adoption of computers, the Internet, and automated manufacturing. These technologies were initially capital intensive, so they strengthened the power of the centralized institutions that could afford to make the required investments in information technology.
We are now in the midst of the 4th Industrial Age, wherein information technology has been democratized to the extent that it is becoming a seamless and ubiquitous part of our daily, personal lives. Mobile phones, the Cloud, 5G, Advanced Automation, the Internet of Things, Big Data, AI, and increasingly Blockchain are putting advanced computational power into the hands of individuals as never before, while disrupting or even eliminating the need for centralized third parties/institutions. For example, by enhancing our ability to trust each other through the use of smart contracts and user-governed platforms, the Blockchain can revolutionize how we deliver financial and educational services. Entrepreneurs like Dr. Harpreet Singh, the Founder and co-CEO of a company called Experfy, have been experimenting with applying the technologies of the 4th Industrial Age to address its emerging human resource challenges by providing an infrastructure to empower people to diagnose their skills gaps and be rapidly up-skilled to remain competitive in a dynamic job market. Experfy is a Harvard Innovation Lab-incubated talent, training, and mentorship platform that I encountered at their presentation during the Future of Work & Technology Executive Roundtable sponsored by both the Harvard Business and Harvard Law Schools. I found myself inspired by Dr. Singh’s vision and the innovative solutions that his team is developing and implementing through Experfy, which has emerged as one of the thought leaders and technology pioneers in the fields of AI, workforce development, and people analytics. Experfy is using innovative technology and novel business models—reinforced by elite talent—to address the challenges engendered by technology itself.
The social consequences of the technologies of the 4th Industrial Age are immense and potentially volatile. In some regards, the crisis created by COVID-19 that we are enduring, as a nation, is temporary and can be controlled; however, the joblessness that will result from AI and automation will have an irreversible impact on our economy. While the mass deployment of electricity created jobs by extending the workday, jobs are now being eliminated, as over the next 20 years, 35% of jobs will become automated—not just limited to manufacturing, but software as well. The attendant social unrest and political risk created by mass unemployment could be tremendous. The movement of production out of China towards more capital-intensive alternatives was already underway before the recent upheaval as the World Bank has reported that 77% of jobs in China are threatened by automation. Notably, the United States is not immune to these trends. The current global health crisis will also accelerate shifts in the fundamental way that work is done, something that was already underway before the pandemic. There will be less travel and a greater willingness to embrace the information and communication technologies that enable high-end professional service work to be performed from a distance.
The DoD will not be immune to these trends. In fact, I could envision the depth and breadth of our uniformed and civilian personnel being affecting in an equally notable fashion, particularly given wide-ranging occupational specialties, the types of potential interactions, and the varying levels of requirements inherent within the DoD sphere of influence. AI “is expected to impact every corner of the Department, spanning operations, training, sustainment, force protection, recruiting, healthcare, and many others.”[i] Consequently, as it is our people that form the backbone of our organizations, this is where we must devote a considerable amount of attention. We must ensure we prepare our talented men and women for the challenges ahead. We must cultivate our current talent while ensuring investment in a comprehensive AI training package that ensures our future force is as agile, responsive, and as skilled as today. As leaders, it is our duty to seek out, acquire, and provide them the tools they will need to succeed throughout the continuum of service, to include their ultimate transition to the private sector. We must be innovative in our thought to guarantee we have a platform that is as agile and revolutionary as the problems our servicemen and women will face. We must continue to set the pace and trajectory of the technology curve, particularly in the management of our talent, to ensure we remain both effective and nimble while ensuring we avoid and talent deficit-"Success no longer goes to the country that develops a new technology first, but rather to the one that better integrates it and adapts its way of fighting."[ii] The time to act is now, and with the speed required to match the rapidly advancing nature of AI. In part two of this article, I will explore a cutting edge talent, training and mentorship platform with the capability and capacity to help the DoD address the cultivation of its workforce, now, and for the foreseeable future.
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