Class of 2006 War Studies Conference
Potential Disruptors of the ‘American Way of War’
The Modern War Institute hosted its third annual Class of 2006 War Studies Conference in November 2018. Over three days at the United States Military Academy at West Point, the conference brought together distinguished representatives from the private sector, government, academia, the think-tank community, and the joint military services to debate and discuss issues related to modern war and warfare. This year’s conference explored the issue of next-generation warfare and potential disruptors to the “American way of war.” On this page, you can find videos of keynote speakers and panel discussions, links to the conference program and post-conference report, detailed descriptions of each of the conference’s five panel discussions, and a list of conference participants.
Official Conference Registration Book
Official Conference Report
Conference Videos
Keynote Addresses
Emerging Technologies and Megatrends Affecting Military Effectiveness
Speakers
Assistant Secretary of the Army Bruce Jette
Former Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Carlin
Moderator
Dr. Nina Kollars, US Naval War College
Can ‘Deep Thinking’ Defeat Tomorrow’s Adversaries?
Speaker
Garry Kasparov
Moderator
Mr. Nicholas Schmidle, The New Yorker
How Geography Will Reshape Great Power Conflict
Speaker
Mr. Robert Kaplan, author of The Revenge of Geography
Moderator
Mr. Jonathan Tepperman, Foreign Policy
Spurring Innovation between the Pentagon and Private Sector
Speakers
Mr. David Sanger, New York Times
Dr. Raj Shah, former managing director of Defense Innovation Unit
Panel Discussions
Panel 1 — Of Bits, Bots, or Battalions? What ‘Next-Generation Warfare’ Looks Like
Dr. Amy Zalman, Strategic Narrative Institute
Dr. Frank Hoffman, National Defense University
Dr. Erik Gartzke, UC San Diego
Maj. Gen. (ret) Robert Scales, CCLTF
Moderator: Dr. Birthe Anders, Harvard
Panel 2 — Fake News, Real War: How to Manage a Complex IO Landscape
Mr. Clint Watts, FPRI
Mr. Brent Colburn, Princeton
Mr. Graham Brookie, Atlantic Council’s DFRLab
Moderator: Mr. David Patrikarakos, author of War in 140 Characters
Panel 3 — Beyond ‘Slaughterbots’: Reimagining War with No Soldiers
Ms. Rosa Brooks, Georgetown University
Lt. Col. Christopher Korpela, Army Robotics Research Center
Dr. Jacquelyn Schneider, US Naval War College
Moderator: Mr. Paul Scharre, CNAS
Panel 4 — Rage against the Machine Learning: Debating AI in Modern War
Dr. Timothy Hwang, Ethics and Governance of AI Initiative
Mr. Paul Scharre, CNAS
Ms. Elsa Kania, CNAS
Moderator: Mr. Andrew Liptak, The Verge
Panel 5 — Beyond the Horizon Scenarios with our Near-Peer Adversaries
Mr. Michael Kofman, CNA
Mr. Isaac Stone Fish, Asia Society
Dr. Antulio Echevarria, US Army War College
Dr. David Johnson, RAND
Moderator: Ms. Andrea Goldstein, Fletcher School
Conference Participant List
Name
Dr. Birth Anders
Dr. Lionel Beehner
Mr. Graham Brookie
Dr. Aaron Brantly
Mr. Max Brooks
Dr. Risa Brooks
Maj. Joseph Byerly
Maj. Jess Caddell
Mr. Matthew Cancian
The Honorable John Carlin
Mr. Brent Colburn
Col. Liam Collins
Lt. Col. Nate Davis
Dr. Antulio Echevarria
Mr. Isaac Stone Fish
Dr. Jai Galliot
Dr. Erik Gartzke
Mr. Dan Gettinger
Brig. Gen. Steve Gilland
Ms. Andrea Goldstein
Maj. Zach Griffiths
Dr. Bruce Gudmundsson
Dr. Frank Hoffman
Dr. Michael Horowitz
Dr. Timothy Hwang
The Honorable Bruce Jette
Dr. David Johnson
Dr. Mary Kaldor
Ms. Elsa Kania
Mr. Robert Kaplan
Mr. Garry Kasparov
Mr. Michael Kofman
Dr. Nina Kollars
Dr. Rita Konaev
Lt. Col. Christopher Korpela
Dr. Ron Krebs
Mr. Richard Kuzma
Maj. Ryan Leach
Col. (ret) Steve Leonard
Mr. Andrew Liptak
Mr. Mike Lyons
Dr. Jahara Matisek
Maj. Dan Maurer
Mr. Albert Mauroni
Col. William Ostlund
Mr. David Patrikarakos
Dr. William Reno
Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan
Mr. David Sanger
Maj. Gen. (ret) Robert Scales
Dr. Paul Scharre
Mr. Nicholas Schmidle
Dr. Jacquelyn Schneider
Dr. Christopher Sims
Mr. Andrew Sollinger
Maj. (ret) John Spencer
Dr. Raj Shah
Mr. Jonathan Tepperman
Mr. Clint Watts
Lt. Gen. Eric Wesley
Lt. Gen. Darryl Williams
Mr. Ali Wyne
Dr. Amy Zalman
Affiliation
Harvard University
United States Military Academy
Atlantic Council’s DFRLab
Virginia Tech University
Author of World War Z
Marquette University
United States Army
United States Military Academy
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Aspen Institute
Princeton University
Modern War Institute
United States Military Academy
US Army War College
Asia Society
University of New South Wales
University of California San Diego
Bard College
United States Military Academy
Tufts University
United States Military Academy
Modern War Institute
National Defense University
University of Pennsylvania
Ethics and Governance of AI Initiative
Office of the Secretary of the Army
RAND
London School of Economics
Center for a New American Security
Author of The Revenge of Geography
Author of Deep Thinking
Center for Naval Analyses
US Naval War College
Modern War Institute
Army Robotics Research Center
University of Minnesota
United States Navy
United States Military Academy
Kansas University
The Verge
CBS Radio News Network
United States Air Force Academy
United States Army
US Air Force Air University
United States Military Academy
Author of War in 140 Characters
Northwestern University
Australian Defense College
New York Times
Close Combat Lethality Task Force
Center for a New American Security
The New Yorker
US Naval War College
King’s College London
Foreign Policy
Modern War Institute
Formerly Defense Innovation Unit
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy Research Institute
Army Capabilities Integration Center
United States Military Academy
RAND
Strategic Narrative Institute
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