Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

GPC Key Decisions

USAF Case for Change

Air Force FAQ for Reoptimizing Great Power Competition

“We need these changes now; we are out of time to reoptimize our forces to meet the strategic challenges in a time of great power competition.”

~ Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall

The United States faces a time of consequence marked by significant shifts in the strategic environment. To remain ready, the U.S. Air Force must change.

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.

Today, the Air Force once again finds itself at a critical juncture—an era of Great Power Competition marked by a new security environment, a rapidly evolving character of war, and a formidable competitor. This new era requires understanding its challenges and the attributes needed to succeed.

Embracing change is not a choice; it is a necessity. The Air Force must “reoptimize” into an enterprise prepared for high-end conflicts and long-term strategic competition.

2023 Autonomous Horizons II, Part 1

Air Force Research Laboratory

Video by Kevin D Schmidt

Sept. 1, 2023 | 01:01:02

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 More