GoKawiilFor decades, the defense industry has been dominated by a small number of established contractors building increasingly complex and expensive systems through procurement programs that often take years, or even decades, to deliver.
But there is a new wave of startups hoping to challenge incumbents with a tech industry mindset that looks to move with speed, innovation, and of course, AI.
One of those companies is Anduril. CEO Brian Schimpf joined me on the latest episode of The Tech Download. We covered a lot of ground, from how the company operates to the growing conversation around tech sovereignty. And of course, the name of the company Anduril, which if you're a Lord of the Rings fan, you'll know about. If not, then make sure to listen to find out.
There were a few topics that stood out. The first regards autonomous weapons, which Anduril is making. Readers may be picturing weapons that are acting by themselves, out of human control. Schimpf is clear that this is not the goal.
"Nobody wants the insane version of this. Like, nobody in the military is talking about it. Nobody thinks it's a good idea," he said.
The reality, the Anduril CEO said, is that autonomous weapons already exist. He cited torpedoes and anti-radiation missiles that can identify and engage specific target signatures without a human making every micro-decision.
The counter view of not having AI in weapons is "just a deeply unethical view, where you're saying, oh, actually, we should have dumber weapons," Schimpf added.
"That seems like a strictly worse world to live in."
He made clear that there needs to be human involvement and that AI is intended to enable people to make better decisions.
"The fundamental thing is we have principles around how we think this should work ... which is very much around human supervision of decision making," Schimpf said.
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