Defense Digital Transformation: A U.S.-U.K. Conversation

George Bernard Shaw famously once said that England and America are two countries separated by a common language. In the digital domain, however, zeros and ones transcend that difference.

In diplomatic circles, the U.S. and the U.K. are known to have a closely aligned relationship. That extends to the military, as well - both are pursuing digital transformation strategies to facilitate adoption of emerging, innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality, and quantum computing. And they are facing similar challenges.

While the focus of the U.K.’s Digital Strategy for Defence, released in May, is on providing a secure, modern “digital backbone” as an essential step in achieving transformation, the strategy highlights that it is not just about technology. “We need to develop our people, so they are able to embrace and employ this digital technology as easily and intuitively as their favourite social media applications,” the report states.

Similarly, the U.S. National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) released its final report in April. It also called on the Pentagon to “get its technical backbone in place” – but two of its four primary recommendations addressed the human factor.

“The DoD must inculcate technical know-how at all levels,” according to NSCAI’s executive director, Ylli Bajraktari. “We will need new ways to recruit, train, and retain the technical experts who buy, build, and integrate new technologies.” The commission also pointed out that DoD “needs sustained top-down leadership to accelerate change and drive outcomes.”

Join us as leaders from the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence discuss the points of commonality and difference in their pursuit of advanced technologies and the hurdles each organization must overcome.