EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF A MACHINE TEAMMATE

Abstract

Artificial intelligence has been in use for decades. It is already deployed in manned formations and will continue to be fielded to military units over the next several years. Current strategies and operational concepts call for increased use of artificial-intelligence capabilities across the defense enterprise—from senior leaders to the tactical edge. Unfortunately, artificial intelligence and the warriors that they support will not be compatible "out of the box." Simply bolting an artificial intelligence into teams of humans will not ensure success. The Department of Defense must pay careful attention to how it is deploying artificial intelligences alongside humans. This is especially true in teams where the structure of the team and the behaviors of its members can make or break performance. Because humans and machines work differently, teams should be designed to leverage the strengths of each partner. Team designs should account for the inherent strengths of the machine partner and use them to shore up human weaknesses. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by submitting novel conceptual models that capture the desired team behaviors of humans and machines when operating in human-machine teaming constructs. These models may inform the design of human-machine teams in ways that improve team performance and agility.