Artificial Intelligence and U.S. Military Cadets’ Attitudes About Future War

Paul Lushenko and Robert Sparrow

Research often assumes that junior military personnel will trust AI during future wars, and at higher levels than senior officers. In this recently published article with Armed Forces & Society, Non-Resident Senior Fellow Dr. Paul Lushenko tests the claim that cadets are “digital natives,” demonstrating high levels of trust in partnering with AI. He uses an original survey experiment among a representative sample of cadets assigned to the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program in the US. He finds that cadets are more trusting of AI-enhanced military technologies than senior officers, but that their trust is shaped by a more conservative understanding of the appropriate use and oversight of AI. This research provides the first experimental evidence of cadets’ trust in AI, which has implications for future research, policy, and military modernization.