The Edge

Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) - What's the Story?

Dr. Heather Skousgaard gives an excellent, easily accessible taster to the importance of cultural intelligence (CQ) and why it is nested within the Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) continuum. Stay engaged for further discussion on this topic by Dr. Skousgaard on the Forge!

We are ‘Better Together’: A contemporary case study #2

The much-anticipated key lessons by Ben McLennan, as applied to the contemporary case study - we are 'better together'.

We are 'Better Together': A Contemporary Case Study #1

In his third installment for The Forge, Ben McLennan discusses the enduring cooperative endeavour between the Australian Defence Force and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Ben presents us with a contemporary case study in cross-cultural leadership, collaboration, and cooperation. Stay tuned at the end of the week for the lessons-learned for this case study of working 'better together'...

Reforming Culture: Preparing Defence for AI

Every day, artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more accessible, scalable and affordable. Disruption is not only possible, it is an inevitable - and leaders must start preparing for it now. However, the Australian Defence Forces’ (ADF) organisational culture is poorly equipped for - if not entirely opposed to - the fast and complete adoption of AI-enabled warfare. This paper explores the changes that Defence will need to make in order to prepare for artificial intelligence.

Is it the 11 secret herbs and spices, or the way it's cooked?

LTCOL Ben McLennan's second delecatable piece unfries the recipe for success for military capability! You will easily digest McLennan's thoughts on what it takes to be expert in your chosen field - whether it be culinary or military!

How to Think (and How Not To)

In this piece, Ben McLennan discusses the pressing need to educate the Army’s workforce on how to think (and how not to). In his discussion, McLennan cogently addresses systems thinking, inherent biases and the need for open-mindedness as part of understanding the recipe to transform Army’s thinking. While specific to McLennan’s Army experience, his observations are equally applicable to other Services and anyone who aspires to think in a way that harnesses a competitive advantage.

On Future Thinking and Innovation: How Military Concept Writing can unwittingly suppress Innovation

This article examines military concept writing in terms of explorative and intentional concepts and contends that militaries ought to be circumspect about writing the latter because of their disposition to suppress innovation.

Capability Boost: Trials Demonstrate Enhanced ViDAR/ScanEagle Package

This article from Jane’s International Defence Review discusses the use of Visual Detection and Ranging (ViDAR) technology on the ScanEagle unmanned aerial system (UAS) platform to provide detection capabilities comparable to radar using Electrooptical (EO) and Infra Red (IR) sensors.

What If Your Data Was Valued Like Currency? At This Café, It Is.

Shiru café offers students a free coffee in exchange for personal data. The data is related to their future employment desires, their habits during work and their use of social media. The café is open in informing students that this information will be passed to employment agencies and potential employers.

Ethics and the Brave New Brain

Advances in neuroscience and AI could revolutionise medicine but they also pose significant ethical and social challenges. If a brain computer interface can allow a blind person to see, or restore speech to those who've lost the ability to communicate, what does this mean for a person's sense of self, personal responsibility or privacy?

Why Would Prosthetic Arms Need to See or Connect to Cloud AI?

This summary of a lecture by Microsoft’s CTO discusses the integration of sensor technology and cloud based AI in low cost, 3D printed prosthetic arms.

North Korea’s Military Capability

This article is a Backgrounder document produced by the US Council on Foreign Relations outlining North Korea’s military capabilities with a particular focus on unconventional weapons. The article addresses the current state and source of origin of North Korea’s current arsenal of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, as well as their delivery platforms.