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How is AI Used in Warfare?

When it comes to advanced artificial intelligence, much of the debate has focused on whether white-collar workers are now facing the sort of extinction-level threat that the working class once did with robotics. And while it’s suddenly likely that AI will be capable of duplicating a good part of what lawyers, accountants, teachers, programmers, and—yes—journalists do, that’s not even where the most significant revolution is likely to occur.

The latest AI—known as generative pre-trained transformers (GPT)—promises to utterly transform the geopolitics of war and deterrence. It will do so in ways that are not necessarily comforting, and which may even turn existential.

On one hand, this technology could make war less lethal and possibly strengthen deterrence. By dramatically expanding the role of AI-directed drones in air forces, navies and armies, human lives could be spared. Already, the U.S. Defense Department is experimenting with AI bots that can fly a modified F-16 fighter jet, and Russia has been testing autonomous tank-like vehicles. China is rushing to roll out its own AI-run systems, and the effectiveness of armed drones will also take off in coming years. One of the largest, although still nascent, efforts to advance AI is a secretive U.S. Air Force program, Next Generation Air Dominance, under which some 1,000 drone “wingmen,” called collaborative combat aircraft, operate alongside 200 piloted planes.

“I can easily imagine a future in which drones outnumber people in the armed forces pretty considerably,” said Douglas Shaw, senior advisor at the Nuclear Threat Initiative. According to retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Charles Wald, “That’ll be a force multiplier. One of the biggest problems right now is recruiting.”

On the other hand, AI-driven software could lead the major powers to cut down their decision-making window to minutes instead of hours or days. They could come to depend far too much on AI strategic and tactical assessments, even when it comes to nuclear war. The danger, said Herbert Lin of Stanford University, is that decision-makers could gradually rely on the new AI as part of command and control of weaponry, since it operates at vastly greater speeds than people can. Continue reading from Foreign Policy

Risks and Concerns

The militarization of AI has profound implications for global security and warfare. AI can improve military capabilities by allowing quicker decision-making, more accurate targeting and more efficient resource allocation. AI-powered autonomous weapons can operate without human intervention, potentially reducing the danger to human soldiers.

However, these developments raise concerns regarding the escalation of conflicts, the possibility of autonomous weapons being compromised or misused and the possibility of an AI arms race.

The regulation of AI weaponization presents significant difficulties. The rapid development of AI and its technical complexity makes it challenging for regulations to keep up. In addition, international cooperation is difficult; effective regulation requires consensus among nations, which can be difficult due to divergent national interests. In addition, the dual-use nature of AI technology (i.e. its use for civilian and military purposes) complicates regulation.

The weaponization of AI raises numerous ethical concerns. Can autonomous weapons, as mandated by international law, distinguish between combatants and civilians? Who bears responsibility if an AI-powered weapon causes inadvertent harm? Is it ethical to delegate decisions concerning life and death to machines? These concerns highlight the need for an ethical framework that governs the use of AI in warfare. Continue reading from United Nations University