PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 1st, 2026: How Artificial Intelligence Will Fight The Next War

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
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**Mike Baker** (0:42)
It's Wednesday, the 1st of July. Welcome to The PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. And this afternoon, we're continuing our series of special intelligence briefings, taking just a slight break from the daily news headlines to look at the bigger picture, the geopolitical concerns, national security issues, and global developments impacting the world. Today's topic is one that's generated no shortage of headlines or speculation or wealth or hype over the past several years. We're talking artificial intelligence. Now, for most people, the term conjures up images of chatbots or image generators or self-driving cars or maybe Silicon Valley entrepreneurs promising to transform the world. But while much of the public conversation has focused on commercial applications, military planners and intelligence agencies around the globe have been paying attention to something else entirely.
They're asking a much different question. How will artificial intelligence change the way that nations shape the battlefields of tomorrow, fight wars, gather intelligence and strive for global domination?
And we ask, is that future still years away or has it already arrived? The answer increasingly appears to be that the future is now.
Because despite all the futuristic language surrounding artificial intelligence, the reality is that AI is already becoming part of modern warfare. It's already massively influencing intelligence collection. It's already helping military commanders process information faster than ever before. And in many cases, it's already assisting weapons systems in identifying, tracking, and engaging targets. To understand why the AI transformation of the battlefield matters, it's helpful to remember that military history is, in many ways, a history of information. Throughout history, commanders have faced the same basic challenge. They need to know where the enemy is, what the enemy is doing, and what the enemy is likely to do next. For centuries, armies relied on scouts or messengers, cavalry patrols, reconnaissance aircraft, satellites, and spies to answer those questions. The methods changed, but the challenge remained remarkably consistent.
Information, of course, is valuable, and timely, accurate information is critical. And the side that can collect, process, and act upon information faster than its adversary often gains a significant advantage.
Artificial intelligence has the potential to dramatically accelerate that entire process. Consider the volume of information that modern intelligence organizations collect every day. We're talking about satellite imagery, drone footage, intercepted communications, financial transactions, shipping data, social media activity, open source reporting, and countless other streams of information pouring into intelligence centers around the clock. Now, historically, human analysts had to sift through that material themselves. Even with advanced software tools, the process could be time consuming and labor intensive. Analysts might spend hours reviewing imagery and identifying patterns and searching for anomalies. AI, of course, is changing that. Modern systems can scan enormous quantities of data in seconds, highlighting potential threats, identifying unusual activity, spotting previously unknown linkages and associations, and drawing attention to information that might otherwise be missed. Rather than replacing analysts, these systems increasingly function as force multipliers, allowing human experts to focus their attention where it matters most.
Think of it as giving every analyst a team of tireless assistants capable of reviewing millions of pieces of information simultaneously. And the implications extend far beyond intelligence agencies. Military commanders face a similar challenge. Modern battlefields generate staggering amounts of data. Drones observe troop movements. Satellites monitor infrastructure. Sensors track vehicles, aircraft and ships. Communication networks generate vast streams of information. The side that can make sense of that information most quickly often gains a significant advantage, which is why any nation with sufficient resources is investing heavily in artificial intelligence. Virtually every major military power understands that artificial intelligence may prove as transformative to warfare as precision-guided munitions, stealth technology or satellite navigation. The question is no longer whether AI will become part of military operations. The question is how quickly those changes will occur and how far they will ultimately go.
Because while artificial intelligence is already helping analysts process information and helping commanders make decisions, we're beginning to see something even more significant. AI is moving from the command center to the battlefield, and nowhere is that transformation more visible than the war in Ukraine.