107. Hybrid Intelligence: Sustaining Adversary Overmatch with Dr. Billy Barry, LTC Blair Wilcox, & TIM

[Editor’s Note: Army Mad Scientist continues our series of blog posts and podcasts in the run up to our Game On! Wargaming & The Operational Environment Conference, co-hosted with the Georgetown University Wargaming Society, on 6-7 November 2024 — additional information on this event and the links to the conference agenda and registration site may be found at the end of this post (below).

In today’s episode of The Convergence podcast, Army Mad Scientist welcomes back Dr. Billy Barry, who is joined by LTC Blair Wilcox from the Army War College (AWC) to discuss their recent case study using their “AI Study Buddy” — TIM — to pass an AWC class, explore how hybrid intelligence can augment human cognition, and address how AI could be used to amplify learning during Army wargames — Enjoy!]

Dr. Billy Barry is a Professor of Emerging Technology and Principal Strategist of the Artificial Intelligence/Intelligence Augmentation (AI/IA) Program for the Center for Strategic Leadership at the United States Army War College. Before working at the Army War College, Dr. Barry was a visiting professor of Philosophy and Just War Theory at the United States Military Academy at West Point.  A pioneer in Human-AI/IA teams, he is the first to introduce AI-powered intelligent augmentation androids, robots, digital virtual beings, and strategic advisors as teaching and learning partners in civilian university and Professional Military Education classrooms. A sought-after TEDx and international keynote speaker, Dr. Barry’s influence extends to Fortune 500 companies and global leadership symposiums and conferences. His current research interest centers on non-invasive brain-computer interfaces, driving the conversation on ethical technology interactions. His contributions to academia and industry establish him as a leading authority on the future of human relationships with emerging technology.   

Blair Wilcox is a lieutenant colonel, U.S. Army Strategist (FA59), and Assistant Professor currently assigned as the Deputy Director in the Strategic Landpower and Futures Group in the Center for Strategic Leadership at the U.S. Army War College. Before his current assignment, he taught in the Department of Social Sciences at the U.S. Military Academy from 2016-2020. His first functional assignment as a Strategist was at V Corps where he was the lead author for the Corps Subordinate Campaign Plan and Operational Approach. LTC Wilcox helped stand up the Corps, deployed with the Corps during crisis, and served as the Chief of Plans during his final year in the G5.

Army Mad Scientist sat down with Dr. Barry and LTC Wilcox to discuss their fascinating use case of pairing with an artificial intelligence (AI) to pass an AWC course, how hybrid intelligence can amplify a Soldier’s cognitive abilities, and how AI is a wargaming game changer. The following bullet points highlight key takeaways from our conversation:

• Hybrid intelligence takes the concept of human/AI teaming to a whole new level, requiring both sides of the partnership to accomplish a task.One major benefit of hybrid intelligence is the ability for the machine to continuously learn through its interactions with humans, as opposed to static AI which has a pre-determined and finite base of knowledge. 

• The application of hybrid intelligence will be extremely useful to the Army and Joint Force at the strategic level – corps through theater. Trustin machine augmentation to support decision making must become standard for Senior Leaders. The strategic application of hybrid intelligence into commanders’ decision making will help them achieve decision dominance faster. 

• As a civilian with no military experience, Dr. Barry illustrated the power of hybrid intelligence by participating in and completing a seminar course at the U.S. Army War College as a student with AI support from his machine, TIM(Technically Impossible Maneuver). While both Dr. Barry and TIM had limitations throughout the course, Dr. Barry was a “super student” – interacting dynamically with his AI to achieve a higher level of cognition that would not have been achieved otherwise — with TIM‘s instantaneous access to course material and relevant historical data prior to the class as well as during class discussions. 

• The Army War College classroom was a useful space to see how hybrid intelligence could work, as it mirrored the same type of environment with military senior leaders that would be found at any strategic-level command. If trust could be achieved in the classroom, it can likely be achieved inside a corps and theater-level command’s staff with the replicated processes. 

• TIM’s role during wargames provided players the ability to consult with an AIthat knows and can recall the specific rules and mechanisms of the game universe, in real time, to optimize game play. TIM was beneficial for players to achieve quick analyses on the science of war, but also helped them achieve a greater appreciation for the art of war, as well [Editor’s Note: check out the associated LSCO implications of this in the “The Art vs. the Science of War” section on page 24 of the TRADOC G-2′s latest Operational Environment].

• In the next few years, Dr. Barry and LTC Wilcox envision building an AI-enabled strategic advisor that can graduate with a student partner as an augmented pair through the Army War College. The second phase is to send this concept to BSAP, Basic Strategic Arts Program, to be a functional AI-enabled strategic advisor for Functional Area 59 (FA59) Strategists. In 10 years, it will be ideally networked throughout various Army commands and staffs at the strategic level to quickly coordinate, collaborate, share, and advise Army Senior Leaders with authoritative, crafted, and curated knowledge. The way for the Army to achieve dominance and maintain cognitive advantage is by employing hybrid intelligence-enabled decision making that ensures U.S. adversary-overmatch.

Dr. Barry will address how hybrid intelligence tools like TIM can augment and amplify learning during wargames and Professional Military Education in the Next Gen Wargaming – New Technological Advances panel discussion on Day 2 of our Game On! Wargaming in the Operational Environment conference on November 7th in Washington, DC. — Army Mad Scientist and the Georgetown University Wargaming Society cordially invite you to attend:

What:  An in-person conference to explore Wargaming and how it can help the Army better understand the Operational Environment

When:  6-7 November 2024

Where:  The Healey Family Student Center, Georgetown University, 3700 Tondorf Road, Washington, DC 20057

Why:  To explore new wargaming methods, new ways to incorporate learning into Professional Military Education, and have an open dialogue with wargamers inside and outside the military.

***In order to attend, you must register through Eventbrite — click here now to reserve your seat —  access will be limited to registered attendees only!***

Stay tuned to the Mad Scientist Laboratory for conference updates and forward any questions you may have to [email protected]

In the meantime, check out Dr. Barry‘s The AI Study Buddy at the Army War College (Part 2) and associated podcast

… and the following Mad Scientist Laboratory wargaming related content:

“Best of” Calling All Wargamers Insights (Parts 1 and 2)

Whipping Wargaming into NATO SHAPE and associated podcast, with COL Arnel David

Wargaming: A Company-Grade Perspective, by CPT Spencer D. H. Bates

Taking the Golf Out of Gaming and associated podcast, with Sebastian Bae

Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response (CHMR) Considerations in Wargaming LSCO, Achieving Victory & Ensuring Civilian Safety in Conflict Zones, and associated podcast with Andrew Olson

Brian Train on Wargaming Irregular and Urban Combat

Live from D.C., it’s Fight Night (Parts One and Two) and associated podcasts (Parts One and Two)

Would You Like to Play a Game? Wargaming as a Learning Experience and Key Assumptions Check and “No Option is Excluded” — Using Wargaming to Envision a Chinese Assault on Taiwan, by Ian Sullivan

Using Wargames to Reconceptualize Military Power, by proclaimed Mad Scientist Caroline Duckworth

Gaming the System: How Wargames Shape our Future and associated podcast, with guest panelists Ian Sullivan, Mitchell Land, LTC Peter Soendergaard, Jennifer McArdle, Becca Wasser, Dr. Stacie Pettyjohn, Sebastian Bae, Dan Mahoney, and Jeff Hodges

The Storm After the Flood virtual wargame scenario, video, notes, and Lessons Learned presentation and video, presented by proclaimed Mad Scientists Dr. Gary Ackerman and Doug Clifford, The Center for Advanced Red Teaming, University at Albany, SUNY

Gamers Building the Future Force and associated podcast

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Army Futures Command (AFC), or Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).