Why AI Will Play a Critical Role in Defense

Over the last few weeks, I have explored how artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming multiple industries. For the most part, we are using this technology to solve real-world problems. The optimist in me believes it could also be used to eradicate poverty and disease. Unfortunately, humans have the urge to create and destroy in equal measure.

This, rather than the technology itself, is the main reason why many experts are concerned with what could happen if AI gets into the wrong hands. Governments and businesses are waking up the fact that social media has already been weaponized. But what if people use it to create powerful weapons or new ways for the few to oppress the many?

These are very two very different sides of the coin. How humans choose to leverage AI technology could ultimately seal our fate. The bigger question is if humanity has matured enough to accept that with great power comes great responsibility and avoid repeating the same old mistakes.

If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must man be of learning from experience. - George Bernard Shaw

It's people who are designing computer viruses, and the bad guys have already turned to AI to create something that learns, improves, and replicates itself. For these reasons alone, we need to recognize that AI plays a critical role in defense too.

Drone technology is an obvious example, and global spending in this area is expected to reach $123 billion over the next 12 months and $14 billion annually in the U.S. by 2025. However, it is predicted to generate $82 billion in positive economic impact by 2025 and also help to create more than 100,000 jobs.

AI-managed micro drones that can act autonomously and work as a swarm while communicating and making decisions together are predictably appearing as future candidates for surveillance missions. But the lines for other tasks quickly become blurred and leave most people with more questions than answers.

The concept of using machines rather than people is already revolutionizing warfare. Essentially, technology now enables a country to attack infrastructure or even human targets without risking any life from their military. When you take a moment to consider the ethical concerns of an army of keyboard warriors coding machines with AI to terminate a human being, it's easy to see why we need to tread very carefully.

However, on the flipside, the same technology can be used to save human life in acts of war. For example, Modus Operandi, a Florida-based software company, is using a combination of AI and big data to detect terrorists before an attack occurs. Humans and machines working together to speed and even automate elements of the intelligence cycle could save many lives, and this can only be a good thing.

The increasing number of cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure highlights how the battlefield has changed. If power grids, hospitals, airports, global banking, and an entire nation can be shut down from a remote location, AI could be the first line of defense and a security-first approach.

The bad news is that all sides have access to the same technology, The use of AI for both offense and defense crucial for long-term security. There are already examples of AI-built forged videos that could be used to spread fake news across social media and quickly cause global conflict to escalate.

Technology has become the backbone of our entire civilization. AI and machine learning are crucial to understanding how attack methods evolve. Both sides are already caught in a virtual game of cat and mouse where AI is both the hero and the villain and offers a glimpse into the complex human psyche.

There are many uses for AI, but ultimately, it's how we leverage its capabilities that will determine our fate. Once again, it's our ability to create and destroy that is increasing concern around how this technology could be used.

Can humans be trusted to use AI without unleashing devastating consequences on our planet, or are we like small children playing with a bomb?

Despite the risks, I firmly believe that there are more good people than evil in the world, so let's focus on protecting, rather than destroying the planet because the latter is counterproductive to our very existence.