KYIV, Ukraine--Last October, as artillery shells fired by Moscow-backed separatists pounded a Ukrainian mechanized brigade, Kyiv responded with a powerful new weapon. A Turkish-made drone launched a missile and knocked out a Russian-supplied howitzer. This demonstration of force--the first drone strike in combat by Ukraine's military--unnerved Russia and fueled complaints from Moscow that North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries including Turkey, the U.S. and Britain were threatening Russia's security by supplying sophisticated new weapons to Kyiv.

The Defense Department must become a digital and artificial intelligence-enabled enterprise capable of operating at the speed and scale necessary to preserve its military advantage, according to a memorandum issued by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks. The memorandum, published on defense.gov, John Sherman, DOD chief information officer, will serve as the acting chief digital and artificial intelligence officer until the position is filled permanently. "[It's] an honor to be able to help get this organization stood up while performing my chief information officer duties," Sherman said today in a Pentagon media roundtable, adding that he has worked closely with several organizations to make sure the CDAO effort is launched on a solid footing. "This is a key milestone for the department to become a digital AI-enabled enterprise," a senior DOD official said in the roundtable.

The Pentagon is figuring ways to harness artificial intelligence (AI) for advantages as far flung as battlespace autonomy, intelligence analysis, record tracking, predictive maintenance and military medicine. AI is a key growth investment area for DoD, with nearly $1 billion allocated in the 2020 budget. The Defense Department's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) will see its budget double to over $208 million, with significant increases likely in 2021 and beyond. JAIC seeks to coordinate all military service and defense agency artificial intelligence activity over a $15 million benchmark. The military is currently seeking to integrate AI into weapon systems development, augment human operators with AI-driven robotic maneuver on the battlefield and enhance the precision of military fires.

Robert O. Work, the veteran defense official retained as deputy secretary by President Trump, calls them his "A.I. dudes." The breezy moniker belies their serious task: The dudes have been a kitchen cabinet of sorts, and have advised Mr. Work as he has sought to reshape warfare by bringing artificial intelligence to the battlefield. Last spring, he asked, "O.K., you guys are the smartest guys in A.I., right?" No, the dudes told him, "the smartest guys are at Facebook and Google," Mr. Work recalled in an interview. The United States no longer has a strategic monopoly on the technology, which is widely seen as the key factor in the next generation of warfare.

In its quest to maintain a United States military advantage, the Pentagon is aggressively turning to Silicon Valley's hottest technology -- artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter made his fourth trip to the tech industry's heartland since being named to his post last year. Before that, it had been 20 years since a defense secretary had visited the area, he noted in a speech at a Defense Department research facility near Google's headquarters. The Pentagon's intense interest in A.I. -- and by connection the Silicon Valley companies specializing in that technology -- has grown out of the "Third Offset" strategy articulated by Mr. Carter last fall. Concerned about the re-emergence of China and Russia as military competitors, he stated that computer-based, high-tech weapons would give the American military an edge in the future. Third Offset is a reference to two earlier eras when Pentagon planners turned to technology to compensate for a smaller military.

In its quest to maintain a United States military advantage, the Pentagon is aggressively turning to Silicon Valley's hottest technology -- artificial intelligence. On Wednesday, Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter made his fourth trip to the tech industry's heartland since being named to his post last year. Before that, it had been 20 years since a defense secretary had visited the area, he noted in a speech at a Defense Department research facility near Google's headquarters. The Pentagon's intense interest in A.I. -- and by connection the Silicon Valley companies specializing in that technology -- has grown out of the "Third Offset" strategy articulated by Mr. Carter last fall. Concerned about the re-emergence of China and Russia as military competitors, he stated that computer-based, high-tech weapons would give the American military an edge in the future.