Pentagon’s AI Push Faces Human Problem As Soldiers Struggle To Keep Pace: Report

The U.S. Army’s outgoing chief information officer Leonel Garciga said that the main obstacle to military modernization is not the technology itself, but getting soldiers and civilians to adapt to new tools, as the Army continues accelerating its adoption of AI.

‘Let’s Break Some Glass’

Rather than relying on multi-year procurement cycles, Garciga advocated a simpler approach of broadly deploying tools and improving them quickly over time. “Let’s just make it ubiquitously available and see what happens,” he told Business Insider. The approach aligns with acquisition reforms advanced under both the Biden and Trump administrations.

He also pushed decisions lower, giving commanders direct authority. “Don’t turn it into a process that takes time and delays people getting the capability they need.”

AI Adoption Moves Fast

The Army’s AI adoption unfolded faster than initially expected, Garciga said, leaving workers struggling to keep pace. “Probably the biggest demand signal we get is, ‘Hey, how do I get trained on this because I don’t understand what I’m looking at?’” he said. “‘How do we keep up with policy?’”

The push spans the broader military, as the Pentagon’s AI chief confirmed in April that Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Gemini model is expanding into classified defense work, while the Pentagon boosted Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META)-backed Scale AI‘s contract to $500 million in May, using an Other Transaction Authority vehicle to accelerate AI deployment and reduce procurement delays.

The Pentagon’s growing AI vendor base includes Alphabet, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), OpenAI, Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR), and Meta.

What Comes Next

A first-generation Cuban-American, Garciga stepped down last week after a three-year term and heads next to Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE:BAH) as an AI and tech advisor. His successor must determine how much AI expansion is sustainable. “Unbridled sprawl is never a good thing,” he said.

Photo Courtesy: Golden Dayz / Shutterstock

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.