Comparing the Organizational Cultures of the Department of Defense and Silicon Valley
Abstract
Making military advances in artificial intelligence (AI) has become an important goal for many of the worlds leading countries.1 For the United States, in particular, the ability to effectively leverage AI technologies and capabilities is increasingly viewed as vital to the long-term success of the military and the nation.2 As the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence explains, we fear AI tools will be weapons of first resort in future conflicts, and it predicts that these weapons are likely to proliferate to all types of future adversaries because of AIs dual-use and open-source nature.3 Despite the importance of making advances in AI, there are concerns that the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is not well positioned to optimally engage with the large U.S. technology companies of Silicon Valley4 and to recruit top AI talent from U.S. technology companies.5 Although differences in organizational culture are often cited as one of the reasons for this AI talent gap,6 no studies have yet empirically compared the organizational culture of the U.S. military with that of Silicon Valley and fully discussed how cultural differences might affect DoDs ability to interface with U.S. technology companies and recruit AI talent.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 10, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1171060
Entities
People
- James Ryseff
- Nathan Voss
Organizations
- RAND Corporation