Artificial Intelligence and its Military Uses

By: William Aaron Turner (Infinitum Corporation)

01/01/2024

AI is a modern advanced technology that has improved incredibly in the past few decades. This advancement has resulted in a revolution in both military and civil applications. The main reason for the advancement at such a rate is the need for the military to advance and make the next best generation of weapons, and AI allows this factor. In the military, AI impacts operations in all sectors and areas of combat from air, space, and information. It can also be applied in tactical, operational, and strategy in the military. The main ways this technology is used in the modern military include cybersecurity, logistics, surveillance, automation of weapons, and military hardware. The advantages and extent to which AI can impact the world have become a subject of focus for world leaders, technology experts, and scholars. However, there are currently various views on AI. Therefore, it is paramount to identify that an issue such as this can have two major arguments. Those arguments that support it and those that disagree with its implementation in the military. Some argue that AI can be positive to humanity and help manage the rate of casualties in the military. The reason for this is that it would reduce the involvement of human personnel in warfare since machines would be deployed instead of human beings to accomplish missions. High risks, in this case, can be assigned to AI technology to limit casualties. AI can also be applied in tactical areas and strategies. The other side of the argument states that AI can go out of control and, if it falls into the wrong hands, can cause a major global crisis like world wars.

Despite being in its early stages, it is possible to identify that it has the power to revolutionise the way humanity approaches warfare and security. There is, therefore, the possibility of this technology to change the military and economic balance of the world globally. Various organizations and states have shown their intentions to access this technology (Burton & Soare, 2019). There are, therefore, multiple types of research and development in the sector.

One of the main places where AI will cause revolutions is the use of robots. The term robot does not necessarily refer to AI, but it can be applied together. Understanding the implications of AI on robots in war will affect the technology and hardware used together with AI. The current technologies and available applications can be revolutionized and transformed by AI. It is important to understand that the Knowledge and research on AI in the military should not be limited to future technology but also to how the current technology will change. AI goes across various technologies such as image, sound, and language recognition, robotics, expert systems, deep and machine learning, natural language learning, and computer vision. It means that AI uses algorithms, big data, which have also gone through changes impacting various other sectors such as business, agriculture, transport, and, for this paper, the military. There have been ethical, social, and legal issues accompanying this advancement in AI. These factors have to be fully considered in the discussion on AI and its implications (Bistron & Piotrowski, 2021). The military uses of AI can change warfare to unprecedented extents and levels.

Another use of AI in the military is in predictive maintenance software and autonomous machines, decision-making AI assistants, and drones that have caused stirs and significant changes in military technology. The current state of this technology determines the state of any country in the military ecosystem. The country or organization that perfects AI before other countries can have an undue advantage over their opponents on the battlefield. It is important to understand all the dimensions of AI and how it can be used in warfare and security. The AI application in the military can be implemented in two ways. It can be applied to improve and advance the existing military software and traditional weapons. Second, it can be used to improve decision-making and make autonomous decisions. It might develop to become the most important single tool in use by the military in the coming years. According to studies, the extent of this technology in improving the traditional military weapon systems is still largely uncharted, and the potentials are limited. Weapons supported by AI are better than traditional systems since the combat capability, and the potential for survival make them better and cheaper on the battlefield. AI machines have been proven to have better response speed, which is better than human capability, and therefore can use the weapons faster (Horowitz, 2018). AI has far more reaction capabilities that human beings cannot achieve independently.

AI is used in warfare to develop intelligent weapon systems that will be more effective than human soldiers. This technology can identify targets and lock and strike while they are fleeing or flying away by estimating their movement. Such a maneuver can be challenging for a human being but will be easy for an automated weapon system. This decision-making capability is the advantage that can be presented by improving AI. The current systems do not have the capabilities as the technology sector improves with Big Data, sensor technology that stands to improve AI's capabilities. AI will be increasingly used in automatic systems, and fights between machines will be a common event. AI is the main fighter in cyber warfare since the battle is between intelligence systems (Cho et al., 2020). AI, when used on hypersonic technologies and better weapon systems, human beings will be unable to keep up with the pace of the war, and autonomous weapons will engage in war.

Intelligence situational awareness is an aspect of AI where the AI can assess the situations on the battlefield and identify the positions of the enemy and the allies. AI provides the military sector with unmanned military platforms such as remote-controlled vehicles for air, sea, and land fights. AI can also be used in command-and-control systems to improve quality, accuracy, and decision-making. The capability of AI in handling information and assessing threats is used to improve attack and defense systems. In the military, AI has affected and will continue to change the way wars are fought and impact military philosophy and combat strategies. The technologies such as unmanned equipment, information, network systems, and precision strike ammunition have changed how combat is approached (Jensen et al., 2020). The result is the change and revolution of war strategies.

AI has begun to and will continue to change military intelligence, systems, and abilities. In this way, it will change the way the military and security systems make their decisions and the equipment they choose to apply. The current focus on unmanned weapons and automatic ones will change the way wars are fought, and the need to use military powers, in the same way, remove vehicles and drones, has changed warfare. AI has changed the deployment of forces in the field, which can reduce casualties, both civilian and military. It is important to understand whether this development should be considered a cost, but it can be used for other reasons. The availability of automatic weapons systems and AI can improve war and conflict due to the reduced cost to states (Burton & Soare, 2019). Therefore, the contention is about the nature of damage that can occur if these technologies lose control.

Future military events and uses will use AI on a major scale. There are significant areas that this technology can be applied in the military that can have productive outcomes. AI reduces the users' workloads, can operate faster than the smartest human being, and can improve productivity. As research on these systems continues, it is evident the technology will improve further. There is a need to focus on the military and how AI can be used. The modern battlefield is already flooded by several AI technologies that can manage significant amounts of data and make better decisions. AI improves accuracy, regulation, and self-control during combat. Every section of the military applies AI, and the increased research on more applications raises the possibility of more future uses. The use of AI in the military has raised significant ethical and moral issues. Currently, the extent of these technologies is increasing tensions between states and organizations.

References

Bistron, M., & Piotrowski, Z. (2021). Artificial Intelligence Applications in Military Systems and Their Influence on Sense of Security of Citizens. Electronics, 10(7), 871. Retrieved From: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/10/7/871

Burton, J., & Soare, S. R. (2019, May). Understanding the strategic implications of the weaponization of artificial intelligence. In 2019 11th International Conference on Cyber Conflict (CyCon) (Vol. 900, pp. 1–17). IEEE. Retrieved From: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8756866

Cho, S., Shin, W., Kim, N., Jeong, J., & In, H. P. (2020). Priority Determination to Apply Artificial Intelligence Technology in Military Intelligence Areas. Electronics, 9(12), 2187. Retrieved From: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/9/12/2187

Horowitz, M. C. (2018). Artificial intelligence, international competition, and the balance of power (May 2018). Texas national security review. Retrieved From: https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/65638

Jensen, B. M., Whyte, C., & Cuomo, S. (2020). Algorithms at war: the promise, peril, and limits of artificial intelligence. International Studies Review, 22(3), 526–550. Retrieved From: https://academic.oup.com/isr/article-abstract/22/3/526/5522301