Conference Presentation, Panel, Fireside Chat
International Security: Innovation, Investment, and Partnerships | Global Conference 2026
- U.S. defense strategy aims to embrace Ukrainian innovations in naval, air, and ground drones to resolve impasses in the Strait of Hormuz and reduce homeland defense costs, with hopes for combatant command uptake (AFRICOM, SOUTHCOM, SOCOM) occurring "this year."
- Sen. Chris Coons plans to press the Pentagon to scale acquisition of cutting-edge systems and accelerate multi-year procurement over the coming year, while intending to reallocate current defense money over a "five-year program" toward autonomous and AI-driven systems, potentially involving a roughly "$900 billion" defense budget.
- Future warfare is predicted to shift from historical models to powerful robotic solutions controlled by AI networks for land, sea, and air operations, with every drone expected to include offensive, defensive, and AI "brain" components within the next "few years."
- Eric Schmidt anticipates that in about two years, individuals will utilize preference, conference, and relationship agents to manage schedules and interactions without human interaction, marking an "agentic revolution" where systems think more deeply than humans.
- The outlook notes that AI hallucinations are "largely under control" and recursion self-improvement is "halfway through the beginning" of an era where systems develop ideas independently, expected to transform deterrence through predictive analytics and scenario planning.
- A critical risk involves the U.S. lacking the "urgency" and manufacturing capability seen in Ukraine, while China possesses "everything needed" to lead in autonomous drone forces, necessitating that the U.S. acts to avoid being surpassed.
- Tens of millions of jobs are predicted to shift due to AI, requiring investment in human-centric roles and a shift from four-year degrees to career and technical education to address political and social disruption.
- The defense acquisition landscape is expected to feature hundreds of venture-capital-funded small companies competing with major primes (Northrop, Boeing, Lockheed), who must innovate due to new money and competition rather than monopolizing.
- To achieve "algorithmic deterrence," software must become the "leading item" in the Pentagon, moving away from maintenance views and a "19th century political decision-making system" to ensure algorithms are owned, controlled, and developed in the United States.
- Allies including Australia, Germany, Finland, and Japan are expected to rapidly rearm, "back sell" solutions to the U.S., and be partnered with to build manufacturing capability for critical munitions at scale, as the U.S. cannot do this alone.
- Internal corporate and government transitions to new technologies are expected to cause "pain" due to the speed of change and organizational unpreparedness, though a "scarcity mentality" is anticipated to drive positive value maximization.
- Manufacturing centers for critical munitions are expected to be built because the U.S. currently lacks the capability to scale, and blue-collar jobs are predicted to have a "very strong market signal" to meet specific skills needs.
- Sen. Chris Coons intends to work with Sen. McCormick to establish two real centers in the immediate region to ensure state-of-the-art capabilities are produced by changing the workforce for the Boeing facility and the Philadelphia naval shipyard.
- Young technical people are expected to be drawn to defense companies due to positive incentive systems involving stock and fair wages, while the private sector is expected to see breathtaking speed of change and unlocked potential wealth.
- The outlook warns that if the U.S. and allies fail to adapt quickly, adversaries may coalesce, and the lack of urgency in U.S. systems compared to the existential urgency in Ukraine poses a significant strategic risk.
- Democracy is expected to require fighting for freedom, with the belief that if conflict occurs, the U.S. must win by leveraging better approaches to solving problems through advanced algorithms.
- Sen. Adam Smith notes that while "color of money problems" regarding software will improve, software is currently not treated as the leading item despite being inherently software-based and critical for deterrence when both sides possess significant hardware.
- Hacking for Defense programs are expected to continue moving the sector in the right direction by teaching students the confidence to pivot when the Pentagon asks the wrong questions.
- A "forward looking optimistic approach" to training and skills development is required to unlock more job potential in the private sector, preventing negative political and social outcomes from technological disruption.