AI and the Art of War

An accessible, up-to-date, and accurate introduction to the use of artificial intelligence in national security and defense

In AI and the Art of War: Artificial Intelligence’s Role in National Defense and Security, the Chief Intelligence Officer of Microsoft’s National Security Group, Paul Rodrigues, explains the contemporary realities of artificial intelligence in the context of national security, defense, and warfare in stunning detail. Dr. Rodrigues draws on his extensive experience supporting the AI efforts of US federal customers and the defense industrial base to explain what modern AI is, how it works, the problems it solves, and the risks it creates.

AI and the Art of War offers original discussions of language AI—including Large Language Models—computer vision, geospatial AI, and agentic AI and AI reasoning capabilities. It examines how these technologies interact with national security initiatives and policies, like DARPA, IARPA, JAIC, and a variety of federal laws and executive orders.

You’ll also find:

• Informed walkthroughs of emerging AI threats, including propaganda, powerful nonstate actors, financial system insecurity, and next-generation opportunities, like transformed disaster response and preparedness capabilities
• Explorations of AI pipeline security vulnerabilities, including prompt injection attacks and prompt leaking
• Obstacles to the responsible use of artificial intelligence, like bias, and the inherent drawbacks to “black box” algorithms

An accessible and accurate introduction to the use of AI in national defense and security environments, AI and the Art of War is a must-read for technical and business professionals with an interest or stake in those industries, as well as government actors, policymakers, and regulators.