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#90 Chris Gentile, Merlin: Inside the race for trusted tactical autonomy
Manage episode 475845485 series 3617746
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In this episode we sit down with Chris Gentile, General Manager for Tactical Autonomy at Merlin, for an in-depth look at the evolving role of autonomy in defense. Chris outlines the value proposition of autonomy as a tool, not a standalone product, and discusses the principles of a modular, hybrid, and hierarchical architecture design in building robust autonomous systems. We explore how recent milestones in trusted autonomy are reshaping military strategy and capability, and how the technology must evolve alongside certification requirements and operational realities.
Chris also shares his personal journey into the field and offers a nuanced perspective on current use cases driving demand for autonomy. The conversation also touches on the cultural and organizational barriers to adoption, two autonomy schools of thought, air superiority in the age of autonomy, best practices for developing autonomous systems, visual language models, data challenges and startup opportunities.
Chapters
1. #90 Chris Gentile, Merlin: Inside the race for trusted tactical autonomy (00:00:00)
2. Autonomy is a tool, not a product (00:03:05)
3. Autonomy value prop (00:07:15)
4. Getting into autonomy (00:11:00)
5. Recent milestones in trusted autonomy (00:13:02)
6. State of the art and remaining gaps in autonomy (00:14:42)
7. What use cases demand autonomy today? (00:20:08)
8. Two autonomy schools of thought (00:24:34)
9. Autonomy makes quantity matter again (00:28:59)
10. Advantages are fragile (00:35:25)
11. Autonomy's role on air superiority (00:39:12)
12. Developing autonomous systems (00:44:27)
13. VLMs and VLAs (00:56:18)
14. The data challenge (00:58:35)
15. Opportunity for startups vs. incumbents (01:04:23)
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