Military methods and means are constantly evolving, and success in warfare often originates from these advancements. Therefore, studying such developments is crucial for gaining a deeper understanding of warfare. In the Swedish Armed Forces, leadership as well as command and control are guided by a doctrine of mission command (uppdragstaktik). This doctrine often plays a central part in many aspects of the organization and may be impacted by the introduction of new technology. For this reason, gaining more insight into this potential development is of interest. This study investigates attitudes among military leaders with different levels of experience regarding an exemplified case of introduction and utilization of artificial intelligence (AI). A quantitative survey was administered to cadets and officers within the Swedish Armed Forces to assess their attitudes towards using AI and its potential impact on doctrine.
The results showed that younger and less experienced respondents generally had a more negative attitude towards use of AI and its potential effect on mission command, compared to older more experienced respondents. This is contradictory to some previous research findings. However, the attitudes towards potential influence of AI on the doctrine were generally positive in both groups. In order to make use of potential advantages of AI in the future and counteract negative effects on mission command, this field is of interest for further study.