Human Systems at the Speed of Acquisition: How Defense Innovation Is Reshaping the Workforce

About this episode

The episode discusses how defense innovation is reshaping the workforce in the context of rapid technological advancements.

The Department of War (DoW) is moving faster than ever—embracing commercial technology, autonomous systems , and Artificial Intelligence (AI) -enabled capabilities. But this acceleration raises a critical question: what happens to the human in the loop? Recorded at the NDIA Human Systems Conference, Arun Seraphin speaks with four leaders working at the intersection of technology, personnel, and defense innovation : Dr. Eric Sikorski, Stuart Michelson, Jenn McNamara, and Jesse Flint. Together, they examine how evolving priorities within the Department of War (DoW) are accelerating adoption of autonomous systems and Artificial Intelligence (AI) , while placing new demands on the workforce responsible for operating them. The discussion reveals that rapid defense innovation often outpaces workforce readiness and can create challenges in training, integration, and scalability. This episode highlights how NDIA members across industry, academia, and government are advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) , autonomous systems , and human performance strategies to ensure the Department of Defense (DoD) workforce can effectively support next-generation missions at speed. See here for more…

People in this episode

Host: Dr. Arun Seraphin

Guests: Dr. Eric Sikorski, Stuart Michelson, Jenn McNamara, Jesse Flint

Topics covered

• defense innovation
• autonomous systems
• artificial intelligence
• workforce challenges
• human performance strategies

Keywords

• Department of War
• defense innovation
• autonomous systems
• artificial intelligence
• workforce readiness
• human systems
• NDIA

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Department of War, NDIA Human Systems Conference, Department of Defense, NDIA

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