Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force Gen. C. Q. Brown Jr., and Army Gen. Laura J. Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command, today emphasized the need for allies and partner nations and their militaries to embrace artificial intelligence and further develop the space domain to meet the complex security challenges of the future.
The two leaders spoke about these issues while speaking at the opening ceremony of the South American Defense Conference (SouthDec 2024) in Santiago, Chile.
The theme of this year’s conference is “How New Technologies Can Be Used to Defend Western Hemisphere Sovereignty.”
“As we reflect on the strong foundation we’ve built through cooperation and trust, it’s clear that our ability to meet security challenges also relies on our ability to evolve and adapt to a constantly changing global landscape,” Brown told the audience before moving on to talk about the future of AI.
“Every organization is looking at how they can use this new technology to improve their capabilities,” Brown said, “but it’s not enough to just sprinkle ‘AI dust’ on everything and expect transformation.”
Brown then outlined seven challenges to transforming AI from a promising idea into a tangible capability that can address the national security needs of allies and partners: infrastructure, architecture, data, focus, resources, talent and culture.
“These seven challenges are challenges we all face,” Brown said, “but by working together, we can share knowledge, experiences and solutions to realize the full potential of this new technology within our network of allies and partners.”
During his speech, Southcom Commander Richardson spoke about the adoption of the concept of enhanced domain awareness and a common space operating picture. The former is an effort undertaken by Southcom that involves setting the conditions for responsible AI and machine learning to improve synchronization of operations across government, and the latter is an effort to use EDA to gain deeper and more comprehensive insight into the space operating environment.
“As allies and partners, we will continue our efforts to jointly enable space domain awareness and improve our readiness, resilience and capabilities to overcome threats,” Richardson told conference attendees.
“As new domains emerge, whoever masters them can potentially seize power,” Brown said in space-focused remarks.
Brown said advances in space have led to economic progress and development around the world, but like any new domain, space has the power to change the balance of power in the world.
“We must work together to develop a code of conduct that respects the rights of all nations,” Brown said. “We need to build a space network that allows everyone to benefit from their unique capabilities, all for the common good.”
Both Brown and Richardson ended on an optimistic note, each expressing confidence that allies and partners can come together across all boundaries and territories to ensure a bright future for the Western Hemisphere.
“This is Team Democracy work, and we stand shoulder to shoulder with those seeking to strengthen economic resilience, democratic stability, and the security of our people across the region and the world,” Richardson emphasized.
“Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
“Our strength lies in our unity, our shared commitment to democracy, and our ability to work together for a better future for all our people,” Brown said, “because we are stronger together.”
As with the past 15 years, this year’s event will be hosted by U.S. Southern Command. Southdec 2024 will bring together representatives from 10 South American countries, North America, Europe and the Inter-American Defense Commission, as well as partner programs operating in South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
