The "Unmanned" Navy Submarine Program

The United States Navy has an unmanned submarine nearing deployment. This is a great example of how AI can augment but not completely replace a human workforce.

These submarines are designed to be low-cost surveillance/anti-sub systems. They can travel thousands of miles and stay at sea for months. Unlike their human-operated counterparts, they don't have to come back for food every few months. Theoretically, if enough of them were deployed and they didn't need to move around much, one of these subs could stay out at sea for years without refueling.

Then there's the cost factor. The goal is to produce the new subs for $20M each. That's a good amount of money, but it's roughly 1% of the $1.7B each that the Navy agreed to pay for their next 10 Manned Nuclear Submarines. 

For the cost of a single Virginia class submarine, the Navy could operate an entire fleet of approximately 100 unmanned subs controlling activity across an entire ocean theater.

On the other hand, while mostly autonomous, the fleet still needs human operators to make deployment decisions and process the intelligence provided. That need isn't likely to change. Note that the new subs also are not part of the nuclear deterrent. 

While the U.S. Navy is leveraging automation in a big way, they're still going to need human staff. However, the Navy of the future may include fewer sailors and more intelligence analysts.