Andy Green: Commercial tech trailed defense, but now it's "the exact reverse"
"Commercial technology used to follow defense technology; this was back when I was much younger. But now it's the exact reverse," he told Axios in an interview.
Why he matters: Green oversees some of the most sensitive tech at HII, America's largest shipbuilder. That includes unmanned systems, electronic warfare, space and nuclear services.
Q: When you hear "future of defense," what comes to mind?
A: I think, like a lot of people, of artificial intelligence. I really think about it becoming quite ubiquitous, throughout every aspect of national security and defense.
AI is already becoming fairly prevalent in proposals and projects right now, and I think that's only going to continue. It's going to be literally everywhere in just a few years.
Q: When will wars be waged solely by robots?
A: I don't think that happens in our lifetimes. And I'm using that term loosely, because I think there's probably like 40 years between my lifetime and your lifetime.
I truly believe that we are going to have autonomous systems throughout the military and integrally involved in every conflict going forward, but I think there's always going to be a human in the loop.
Q: What region of the world should we be watching? Why?
A: I hate to state the obvious, but China.
Q: What's your secret to a successful overnight flight?
A: I can't sleep on an airplane, as crazy as that sounds.
For me, a successful overnight flight is: I catch up on work, I read and digest work materials that I don't have a lot of time to read while I'm in the office, and, frankly, I'll catch up on some of my favorite series, like "Yellowstone."
Q: What time do you wake up? What does the morning routine look like?
A: I typically wake up between 4 and 4:30, and my morning routine is pretty boring, but, I would say, productive.
I get up, I have a cup of coffee, read all my newspapers and then I go exercise. Then I come back, get cleaned up, check email and start divvying up those kind of tasks, and then head out to the office or wherever I'm going that day.
Q: What's a piece of gear or tech you can't go without?
A: This was my favorite question on the list. I've got a 1950s Les Paul electric guitar.
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