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As our present class of aircraft carriers become more and more obsolete, we should be thinking more and more of turning these platforms into drones. Historically, carriers were made of converted ships with a flat retrofitted deck to accommodate airplanes. So history suggests that it is quite likely that the Navy will take one of our carriers and modify it so that it can operate with a skeleton crew as a drone. They are already launching and recovering drone airplanes.

As the modification of old carriers progresses, it is quite possible to anticipate that as artificial intelligence continues to advance we will reach the point where new carriers which are 100% drones can be launched. Presumably they would be not just cheaper to operate but also cheaper to build. Certainly, their destruction would be much cheaper in human life and therefore not necessarily Casus Belli for nuclear war if the Chinese get frisky and sink one.

It may be that carriers will be abandoned altogether for submarines with missiles and satellites with lasers. Much of the change must come from evolution as well as technological revolution. God help us if we get it wrong.