Episode 431 | The Future of Warfare is Autonomous

Nathan Michael, Chief Technology Officer, Shield AI joined Grayson Brulte on The Road to Autonomy podcast to discuss why the future of warfare is autonomous.The conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have made the case for autonomy abundantly clear. Drones create asymmetric advantage by driving down the cost per effect, delivering outcomes at reach without putting pilots and service members into harm’s way. As trust in these systems grows through engineered performance and assurance, autonomous systems will increasingly engage in combat and change the face of modern warfare.Shield AI’s solution to the future of warfare is Hivemind, an AI pilot designed from the beginning to be platform agnostic, mission agnostic, and domain agnostic. This architecture aligns with the Air Force’s autonomy government reference architecture for the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, which mandates modularity and no vendor lock-in.No vendor lock-in is becoming a global standard, with nations demanding sovereign autonomy, ownership of data, and the flexibility to swap in the most performant AI pilot as the technology rapidly improves. Hivemind is now expanding beyond the air and maritime domains into space through a series of defense partnerships.Episode Chapters0:00 How Shield AI is Thinking About Autonomy in a World Full of Conflict1:56 Are Drones the Modern Equivalent of the Abrams Tank?4:09 Is Society Ready for Autonomous Warfare5:58 Developing Hivemind and the Aha Moments Along the Way10:50 Deploying V-BAT in Ukraine and Integrating Hivemind on One-Way Attack Drones13:59 The Autonomy Factory and Adapting Hivemind Across Platforms17:41 Going from Air to Sea with Huntington Ingalls22:39 Deploying Hivemind on the Airbus Lakota Helicopter for Contested Logistics25:52 Winning the U.S. Air Force CCA Mission Autonomy Production Contract29:37 Autonomy Government Reference Architecture and No Vendor Lock-In35:34 Expanding Hivemind into Space38:17 X-Bat, the World's First AI-Powered VTOL Fighter Jet40:34 AUTNMY AI--------About The Road to AutonomyThe Road to Autonomy is the leading applied intelligence platform covering the convergence of automation, autonomy, and the Autonomy Economy.™.Through our podcasts, newsletter, Indices and proprietary applied intelligence, we set the narrative for institutional investors, industry executives, and policymakers navigating the convergence of automation, autonomy, and economic growth.Join institutional investors and industry leaders who read This Week in The Autonomy Economy every Sunday. Each edition delivers exclusive insight and commentary on the autonomy economy, helping you stay ahead of what's next.Sign up for This Week in The Autonomy Economy newsletterFollow The Road to Autonomy IndicesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.