The United States government launched the Strategic Computing Initiative in 1983 to fund advanced computer hardware and artificial intelligence for ten years. The program concluded in 1993 after spending one billion dollars from the Department of Defense.
Robert Kahn directed the Information Processing Technology Office during the early years of the initiative while Clint Kelly managed the project for three years. Jack Schwarz assumed leadership of IPTO in 1987 and subsequently cut funding to artificial intelligence research deeply and brutally.
The Department of Defense spent one billion dollars on the Strategic Computing Initiative between 1983 and 1993. By 1985, the agency had already spent one hundred million dollars across ninety-two projects at sixty institutions.
Program insiders identified critical issues with integration, organization, and communication by the late 1980s. Jack Schwarz decided to shift focus away from machine intelligence toward more immediate technologies in 1987.
The Autonomous Land Vehicle program laid scientific foundations for future driverless vehicles through the use of video cameras plus laser scanners and inertial navigation units. The Dynamic Analysis and Replanning Tool proved successful during military operations and saved the Department of Defense billions of dollars during Desert Storm.