We are living in the world driven by technologies. Recent boom of AI in the different niches forced many people to adapt to the new reality. In my blog I want to talk about how AI is being used in wars.
Usage of AI in drones.
Warfare changed a lot since last global conflict and technologies played huge roles in this changes. Let’s have a look on the conflict in the Ukraine. It is first modern war since a long long time where two opponents showing to the world how war has changed. Semi automatic and fully automatic drones became a common thing on the battlefield. More common for now is semi automatic drones which helps to find victim due to AI but human still needs to pull a trigger to be able to shot on target. But nowadays we start to hear more about fully automatic drones. This is type of drones which search for the target with a help of AI and also attack target without human putting a trigger. The main role of a human is to launch the drone to the sky and it will do his job. But this drones are still in development process. This kind of drones have their issue with recognition of the target. For example AI could be programmed in the way when drone sees a human with a gun, or a human with a enemy uniform AI will receive signals to attack this target. Fully automatic drones could become strong power in the near future. But the use of autonomous weapons raises many ethical questions, such as who is responsible for the actions of the weapon.
AI in cyberattacks and information wars.
Also the ways how people get information have changed. War now it is not only shooting from guns and artillery. Nowadays it is also informational war. Where which side controls information controls the war. With development of AI and all deep fakes opportunities where you can create a fake video of a human who gives a speech about military objects without going out from your room and even without a speaking with a person who is going to give this speech. I am not talking about photos, content where fake could be created even without AI implementation. Or other options of usage of AI in the war is cyberattacks. Systems with AI and machine learning capabilities could automatically search for vulnerabilities in enemy systems to exploit, while also detecting weaknesses in their own systems.
Decision making.
The most common way how to use AI in the warfare now is data analyse. Due to AI people can have access to more information. Data could be analysed much faster which helps humans to make faster and better decisions. With all gathered data from maps, satellite images, videos from drones and etc. AI helps to analyse informations and offer options how to solve different issues. AI is a tool which helps humans make better decisions. AI could not make decision on their own, but it could offer options for people which they can choose and try to built their own strategies based on the ideas which AI gave. AI is an assistant of future for generals.
Less harm to civilians and civil infrastructure.
So if AI helps us to analyse more and more date and helps us to come up with brilliant plans and ideas. It could also give more detailed information for military people so they could make their job less harmful for civilians. For example for hitting a target on the enemies territory which is located in the middle of the city. AI could plan best option for the attack, for example usage of the satellite images could help for decision with best time to launch an attack depends on the amount of civil people around.
Conclusion.
We can not stop development of technologies and their implementasion to the warfare. And from what we can see now AI is going to take over military industry in the near future. Maybe fantasy movies with robots fighting between each other to defend their country could become true?
Links:
- https://blogs.icrc.org/law-and-policy/2023/10/24/algorithms-of-war-use-of-artificial-intelligence-decision-making-armed-conflict/
- https://www.cigionline.org/articles/ai-is-rapidly-transforming-warfare-new-rules-are-urgently-needed/
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-militaries-are-using-artificial-intelligence-on-and-off-the-battlefield
- https://www.brookings.edu/articles/ai-and-future-warfare/
- https://www.icrc.org/en/document/what-you-need-know-about-artificial-intelligence-armed-conflict#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20an%20AI%20image,what%20to%20attack%20and%20when.
Picture generated by PIXLR.
Made with Bing AI. Prompt that I used “How AI is being used in war”.
Interesting read on AI’s role in modern warfare. It’s a bit unnerving to see how quickly we’re moving towards autonomous drones. Makes you wonder, who’s accountable when AI calls the shots?
The blog post seems too positive about AI in warfare and doesn’t fully consider the serious risks. Relying too much on AI for military decisions could lead to big mistakes, as machines don’t have human judgment. Also, the danger of AI being misused in weapons that could cause harm indiscriminately isn’t addressed enough.
The integration of AI in warfare nowadays reflects such evolution in military strategies. While AI offers advantages such as faster data analysis and reduced harm to civilians, the ethical implications of autonomous weapons and information control create critical challenges that must be addressed as technology continues to evolve in the area of warfare.
While I appreciate the technological advancements discussed, I can’t help but feel uneasy about the integration of AI in warfare. The idea of fully automatic drones and the potential for information manipulation raise serious ethical concerns, making me question the impact on humanity when technology takes the forefront in conflict.