Future Cognitive Challenges Table

Human Interface Horizons

Select a family of defence-specific challenges on the left to display the corresponding information about its individual constituent future challenges.

Collaboration with varied actors (state / nonstate / corporate / NGOs)

Interacting with automation and autonomy

Operate in complex, cluttered and contested environments

Operation of novel equipment

Processing significant streams of surveillance / intelligence / data and understanding complex systems

Knowledge management and provision of high quality training and education

Active challenges from 'red'

Individual cognitive challenge	Definition	Representative scenario	Relevant domains	Time horizon	Perceived impact	Direction of effect for Defence	Activity	Areas of cognition	Key challenges for development and research from a cognitive perspective
Mission planning, logistical and engineering support	Provide mission planning and logistical / engineering aid to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and states.	Military asked to help civilian authorities with planning for flood relief scenarios.	Land	2025	Incremental	Positive	Collaborative planning	Communication, planning	Need for development of both 'soft' interoperability (people, e.g., training, translation if required, agreed terms of reference, cultural understanding) and 'hard' interoperability (between digital systems and shared digital tools).
Security support	Provide security support to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and states.	Military help secure friendly city after breakdown in law and order.	Land	2025	Incremental	Positive	Provide security and patrolling	Communication, planning, situational awareness	Need for development of both 'soft' interoperability (people, e.g., training, translation if required, agreed terms of reference, cultural understanding) and 'hard' interoperability (between digital systems, shared digital tools).
Provide lift/heavy lift to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and states.	Provide lift/heavy lift to Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and states.	Military support transport of aid and machinery to regions affected by natural disasters in collaboration with aid organisations.	Air, Land, Maritime	2025	Incremental	Positive	Lift capability	Communication, planning	Need for collaborative planning, provision of secure access to sites as required (can technology be used to make sites more available to third parties while maintaining a high level of security?).
Cooperation with city authorities	Cooperation with city authorities will be an increasing part of urban operations, potentially spanning policing, combat and humanitarian response.	Three block war (military action, policing and humanitarian relief missions overlapping in city).	Land	2025	Incremental	Neutral	Security, patrolling, combat operations, social interaction	Communication	Need for development of both 'soft' interoperability (people, e.g., training, translation if required, agreed terms of reference, cultural understanding) and 'hard' interoperability (between digital systems, shared digital tools).
Countering biological weapons	Countering weaponised disease / genetic / pathogen weapons will present as a biological challenge, but will probably find expression as a social challenge requiring extensive collaboration with civilian authorities.	Tracking and tracing spread of biological weapon use; 'oppositional field epidemiology'.	Land	2035+	Incremental	Negative	Patrolling, investigation, social interaction	Communication, planning, sensemaking	Implies a requirement for common reporting and coordination tools.
Interoperation with partners	Interoperability and collaboration with other militaries (recognised state, non-state and possibly even corporate / private).	Joint action with NGOs and local groups to establish clear pathways for food delivery to local markets after a natural disaster.	Land	2025	Incremental	Positive	Collaborative planning	Communication	Need for development of both 'soft' interoperability (people, e.g., training, translation if required, agreed terms of reference, cultural understanding) and 'hard' interoperability (between digital systems, shared digital tools).
Open information sharing	Need for "Expansive Sharing". It will be important to be open to sourcing information outside traditional sources and from novel collaborations outside the norm as part of collaborative action. This may challenge the normative understanding of information security.	Share and accept information from informal coalition of local groups, NGOs and corporations.	Land	2025	Step change	Positive	Information sharing	Communication, sensemaking, monitoring	This is a challenging problem requiring taking a sophisticated and nuanced view on information security. Soft challenges dominate (what to share, what to accept, who to share with).
Mass operations	"Mass operations" - both mass evacuation and guiding deployment of mass manpower.	Organise and facilitate mass evacuation from a city while maintaining public order and safety.	Air, Land, Maritime, Cyber	2025	Incremental	Positive	Mass communication, patrolling, security	Communication, mass communication, planning, monitoring, sensemaking, situational awareness, visualisation	Need to develop access to means of mass communication (possibly even distributed mass collaboration depending how active other parties are required to be in the effort); this will probably have a strong cyber and influence elements together with logistical planning.
Collaborative space operations	Space as a domain of operation will require significant collaboration and interaction with both states and corporations.	Collaborate with corporations and governments to procure timely orbital lift to replace damaged satellites.	Space	2025-2035	Disruptive	Neutral	Collaborative planning	Communication, planning	Requirement to establish common understanding and sight of common needs / requirements across collaborators.