Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become the next big domain in the theater of war, and NATO allies have made it a top priority as they look to improve the alliance’s collective defense.
The summit in Washington, DC, next week will not only mark the alliance’s 75th anniversary but will focus on maintaining NATO in an increasingly hostile geopolitical environment.
The global consequences of the war in Ukraine are far-reaching, and the deepening divide between the West and its top authoritarian adversaries is having an impact on everything from defense to trade.
At the heart of how NATO wants to sustain itself in challenging times is the shift in AI technology.
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The reliance on drones in kinetic warfare has drastically increased with the conflict in Ukraine, resulting in an AI race and the need to develop offensive and defensive strategies.
“There are concerns about countering Chinese and Russian AI capabilities in wartime, but those concerns should not be mistaken for desperation,” said Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery, a retired senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
“Just as there is reason to be concerned about countering Chinese and Russian kinetic weapons – such as hypersonic maneuvering cruise missiles – the US has the ability to build effective offensive and defensive systems to prevent and, if necessary, defeat enemy actions,” he said.
In March, NATO more than doubled its technology accelerator sites under a program known as the Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic (DIANA), which works with private and public companies to develop “deep technologies” to address the alliance’s defense challenges.
In DIANA, there will be test sites in 28 of the 32 NATO countries as a step to support innovation in the alliance in AI, cyber, 5G, hypersonic and autonomous systems.
But the massive expansion of AI capabilities means that the alliance will also want to hedge, especially when it comes to using AI in battle.
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“There are doctrinal discussions in NATO to make sure we don’t have ‘SKYNET’ take over and start kinetic action without humans making decisions,” former NATO Assistant Secretary General for Defense Investment Marshall Billingslea told Fox News Digital.
“As drones become more sophisticated, while they are still cheap, and as people introduce artificial intelligence into drones to attack, there is a need for a comparable level of AI that must be integrated into countering UAS (unmanned aircraft systems), as well as theater. missile defense capabilities, ” he said.
Billingslea said that AI has been used effectively by the US when it comes to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, but that it has now been extended to NATO.
As the alliance will enhance collective defense, the AI initiative is aimed not only at gathering security and intelligence data from all partner nations, but at using that intel more efficiently by removing the human burden of analyzing it.
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AI in kinetic warfare is not the only area that has NATO on alert.
Propaganda has long played a role in wartime, but the use of disinformation campaigns and malware has become a key tool in soft war operations that can make extensive use of AI, making AI-enhanced soft war tactics a significant challenge to combat.
“An area of greater concern to me is the use of AI to augment operations of malign influence during peacetime or during a crisis,” Montgomery said. “Both Russia and China have shown a willingness to operate in the gray zone to a greater degree than the US and its democratic allies. As a result, Chinese and Russian AI-induced malign influence operations could have a significant negative impact.”
Reliance on China’s systems has long been debated among the US and its European allies, although Beijing’s ties to Moscow have led many in Europe to cut ties with Chinese digital infrastructure companies.
The war in Ukraine has highlighted the need for NATO to protect its members and partner countries, especially non-NATO countries in Europe and in regions like the Indo-Pacific, from threats posed by AI technology.
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“There is an authoritarian coalition that NATO has to deal with, which is China, Russia, North Korea and Iran,” Montgomery said, pointing out how all four have not only positioned themselves against the West but have done so, in part, by supporting Moscow with military and economic aid for the war. in Ukraine.
“From my perspective, Ukraine is on the front line against all four of these authoritarian regimes. NATO is better to support it,” he added.