The End of American Military Dominance? A Conversation With Paul Scharre

The proliferation of low-cost, commercially available technologies—specifically drones and artificial intelligence—has fundamentally leveled the playing field between global powers and smaller adversaries. The era of relying on exclusive, exquisite military advantages is over, as battlefields have become increasingly transparent and lethal. To maintain effectiveness, the United States must shift its strategy from developing singular, high-cost platforms to scaling the production of attritable, expendable systems. Paul Scharre, executive vice president of the Center for a New American Security, emphasizes that future military success depends less on being at the technological frontier and more on the organizational agility to integrate these tools. While the Pentagon has begun deploying AI models, overcoming bureaucratic inertia and establishing long-term, multi-year funding remains critical to sustaining deterrence against competitors like China and adapting to the realities of modern, attrition-based warfare.