Insights and Analysis

When I first joined ARLIS, I felt equal parts excitement and humility. Excitement, because after conducting prevention- and policy-focused research where outcomes often required long timelines to materialize, I was eager to contribute to mission-driven work with near-term impact. Humility, because the opportunity also brought with it a wave of imposter syndrome.

When we think of military operations, we picture soldiers on the ground, ships at sea, jets in the sky or satellites in orbit. The traditional domains of warfare, land, sea, air and space, each have a dedicated military force. In recent decades, cyber was added to the list, recognizing the strategic importance of digital infrastructure and information networks.But, what if we’re missing something bigger?

Everyone wants to use AI but making it useful is harder than it looks. At ARLIS, we focus on Technical Language Processing (TLP) because it delivers lasting, mission-relevant capabilities when grounded in the realities of human work, policy constraints, and domain complexity.

When President Trump recently declared U.S. shipbuilding a national security priority, it resonated deeply with those of us who’ve spent our careers in maritime operations and defense. As former Navy leaders and now researchers focused on innovation, we agree that now is the time to act.

There’s a lot of news today around companies “Going Digital.”