<title>Theoretical foundations for rational agency in third-generation wargames</title>

Abstract

Conflict between groups of armed men is as old as recorded history. Effective reasoning and decision-making are fundamental to the successful execution of military operations. These activities are of paramount importance, given the high-stakes nature of conflict; most especially in this modern era of asymmetric threats, and unconventionally armed rogue states. Yet as high as the stakes are, there does not exist a sufficiently formal military theory of reasoning and decision-making that instantiates modern warfighting doctrine. Large bodies of knowledge on reasoning and decision-making exist, but they are not integrated, and they (to the author's knowledge) have not been cast effectively into a military context. Herein, I describe a new theory of military rationality which fully captures the reasoning and decision-making processes of homo militius, military man. The goal of the third generation wargaming effort at the Air Force Research Laboratory's Information Directorate is to produce a high-fidelity simulation of conflict environments in order to facilitate a new brand of highly immersive training for our warfighters and supporting personnel. This environment will be populated by a new breed of intelligent agents that we affectionately call ASC-ME's (Advanced Synthetic Characters for Military Environments). I shall briefly highlight the philosophical foundations for the construction of such entities, and the formal techniques by which they may be modelled and engineered.