iCan Help You: The Benefits of Artificial Intelligence to Military Forces Outside of Warfighting Operations

Abstract

<p>To take the King's hard bargain is a 'traditional description for the rendering of military service to the Crown, made inaccurate in modern times only by the gender of the current Sovereign'. This bargain's hardness is multifaceted. It denotes that military service involves a unilateral agreement—that the member gives everything and expects nothing. It further represents that one takes an oath to serve within the profession of arms, whose raison d'être of warfighting is best highlighted through the role of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps:</p><p>"... to seek out and close with the enemy, to kill or capture him, to seize and hold ground and to repel attack, by day or night, regardless of season, weather or terrain."</p><p>In achieving this capability—warfighting—another aspect of the King's hard bargain becomes apparent, one that is not as readily taught at the Royal Military College of Australia as infantry minor tactics. The day-to-day administration of personnel constitutes a significant burden on any commander, detracting from the ability to conduct training to prepare for combat, combat support or combat service support. This paper suggests a possible method for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to help reduce the cognitive clutter surrounding its administration, policy and military discipline through the use of machine learning algorithms.</p>