The Evolution Of Military Technology: AI and Digitisation in Modern Warfare

Introduction

What is the future of war? The technologies, the economics, the ethics? This is the nature of our upcoming investigation. The next three articles will be dedicated to the examination of the future of war – technologically, economically, and socially. In this first article, we will be investigating the key technologies being adopted in modern warfare, and what their futures look like. In particular, these include AI, drones and cyber warfare, each of which offers profound impact into the future of war, making it cheaper, more efficient, and more destructive.

War has undergone incredible evolution over the past several centuries. From laying siege with primitive cannons and fighting with swords and bayonets, to the advent of TNT and its widespread use, to the devastating wrath of the atom bomb, and to today – where warfare is more and more so powered by software. This evolution has progressed clearly in line with technological innovation. Whether wartime technologies later become commercial or vice versa, the technologies powering war always represent the technologies of the time, and in their most destructive form. Our world is becoming ever more reliant, and built upon, software and computer technologies, playing a part in almost everything that we do. Unsurprisingly, this is manifesting itself in the scene of war, where software is being used to develop advanced AI algorithms, control drones and conduct cyber warfare.

Military AI and Drones

AI is one of the biggest topics of discussion world-wide, and its effects are being felt everywhere, including in warfare. AI can sift through vast hordes of data, often in the form of images, that would otherwise, when done manually, be greatly inefficient and time-consuming. This allows militaries to pinpoint enemy locations and movements with brilliant efficiency, and to thus make far more informed choices. Beyond this, AI also offers the potential to not just sort through data, but to analyse the data to offer suggestions and potential action plans to commanders, simplifying the process and decreasing the odds of human error. Unlike advanced weapons technology, AI may not be a directly lethal and destructive technology, yet the efficiency and accuracy it offers are of tremendous advantage to conducting successful war efforts. Furthermore, there is another use case of AI that may ensure even greater speed and accuracy, namely its integration with drone technology.

Drones are becoming ever more prominent in war, which can be evidently seen in the current Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine’s infantry are outnumbered 5-1 by the Russians, and so the utilisation of drones has proved highly useful, both in combat and scouting. Not only are drones stealthy and often quite lethal, but they are significantly more cheap than alternative options, allowing mass-production and less risk in losing them in battle. Moreover, with the integration of AI, the usefulness of drones is increasing dramatically. By combining AI image identification with self-guidance systems, drones serve as the perfect scouts, easily sorting and identifying image data while staying out of the enemy eye. Furthermore, by innovating more advanced AI algorithms, automated drones are becoming ever more capable at engaging in combat without the need for human control and direction. Overall, drones and AI are radically changing the scene of war by allowing hugely improved efficiency, in a plethora of ways.

Cyber Warfare

Beyond the battlefield, a new theatre of war is emerging. One that is not at all formal, and one that is in many ways far less comfortable, if that can ever be said about war. As our world becomes ever more reliant on software, our information and our infrastructure become increasingly vulnerable to hacking – yet this is a brilliant opportunity for countries with malicious intentions. Cyber warfare is gaining great prominence in geopolitics and, although it may not be officially declared, it is being adopted by countries all across the globe, such as China, Russia and the US, for use in blackmail and keeping enemies in check. By exploiting known vulnerabilities in software systems which the vendor is unable to fix, also known as zero-day vulnerabilities, hackers are able to find their way into important software. This can be used to blackmail enemies by threatening to shut down and disrupt key infrastructure, or to gain classified intelligence about countries that would be otherwise unattainable. All in all, this new theatre of war is leading to ever greater instability, built off the back of its informal and secretive nature, and is setting up for its own new era of warfare.

Future Trajectory of Software and Military Technology

As weapons become more sophisticated and deadly, and countries become less willing to engage in direct and mutually destructive warfare, emerging software technologies will fuel a new world of warfare, one distinct from its general and renowned image. With AI gaining more complete control over the battlefield, and software attacks becoming increasingly prevalent, governments worldwide will be shifting their military investments. Moving from the historical norm of dedicating to soldiers, weaponry and typical military technologies, intelligence will become an ever greater point of focus. Furthermore, the use of artificial intelligence itself will move beyond the mere battlefield, becoming more and more involved in cyber warfare, and making the process of gathering intelligence more sophisticated and efficient. Overall, new technologies are changing the face of war, but how will nations react? How will intelligence be used, and what will this mean geopolitically?

How do you see it? Comment your take👇

If you enjoyed this article and want to learn more about some of these emerging technologies, make sure to check out the articles below:

Digital Privacy: Navigating a World of Ubiquitous Mass Surveillance

How far away is Artificial General Intelligence?