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Automation in the Intelligence Cycle

Can automation and artificial intelligence support the intelligence cycle

​On 27 and 28 May 2020, NATO STO Research Task Group (RTG) SAS-157 held a successful virtual kick-off meeting for their 3-year research project. The team, led by experts from the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) with participation by representatives from Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, HQ Allied Command Transformation, NATO Communications and Information Agency, and NATO Battlefield Information Collection and Exploitation System (BICES), will address the question whether automation and artificial intelligence can support the intelligence cycle.

As mentioned by the retired U.S. intelligence officer David Shedd, former Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), ”Every successful military plan and operation relies on intelligence”. In recent years, the intelligence process is growingly challenged. The increasing complexity and dynamics of the context of military operations, as well as the unpredictability of the enemy, create a high demand for the effectiveness and the efficiency of the intelligence process to deliver actionable products. RTG SAS-157 will choose a subset of identified opportunities and qualitatively, and -where possible- quantitatively, assess the benefit of automation in specific cases within national and NATO experiments/exercises.

The Intelligence Cycle

This will possibly lead to the design of a new concept for a future way to conduct intelligence providing a new perspective on the field. After completion of the research, the team will disseminate the insights and will formulate a proposal on how to best use the results for further exploitation. It is foreseen that the SAS-157 Research Task Group will not only assess the possibilities for improving and accelerating the intelligence cycle, but also will facilitate the cooperation and sharing of best practices between NATO nations in this area.

This research will be overseen by NATO STO’s System Analysis and Studies (SAS) Panel. The SAS Panel is NATO STO’s expert panel for analytical advice that develops and oversees studies, analysis and information exchange activities that explore how operational capability can best be provided and enhanced through the exploitation of new technologies, new forms of organization or new concepts of operation. It comprises of close to 50 senior scientific representatives from 23 NATO Nations, 2 Partnership for Peace Nations, 1 Global Partner and 4 NATO organizations.

Please contact the SAS Panel Office if you need additional information or want to participate in this research effort.​

Published by SAS