- Artificial intelligence is increasingly entangled with geopolitics and defence strategy, as recent disputes between U.S. and Chinese AI labs highlight emerging national security concerns.
Key Strategic Features of AI
- Dual-Use Technology: AI powers civilian services like medical diagnosis while also enabling military applications such as autonomous drones, surveillance, and battlefield intelligence.
- General-Purpose Technology: AI operates across sectors such as fraud detection in banking, traffic optimisation in smart cities, and predictive analysis in defence systems.
- Data-Driven Advantage: AI leadership relies on vast datasets, high-performance computing, and advanced chips, giving countries like the U.S. and China a competitive edge.
- Private-Sector Leadership: Frontier AI innovation is largely led by firms such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic rather than state laboratories.
- Frontier AI: The most advanced and powerful artificial intelligence systems at the cutting edge of technology, capable of complex tasks like reasoning, coding, and decision-making.
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Role of AI in National Security
- Autonomous Warfare: AI enables autonomous drones and robotic combat systems. E.g., AI-assisted targeting can shorten the military “kill chain” from hours to minutes.
- Intelligence Analysis: AI processes massive satellite and sensor data, like facial recognition and predictive analytics, to help detect threats and monitor borders in real time.
- Cyber Defence: AI strengthens cybersecurity by detecting malware and intrusions instantly. E.g., global cybercrime losses may exceed $10 trillion annually by 2025, driving AI-based defence tools.
- Information Warfare: AI enables deepfakes and automated propaganda campaigns, influencing elections and conflicts through large-scale misinformation on digital platforms.
- Tech Rivalry: AI leadership shapes geopolitical competition; countries like the U.S. and China invest billions annually, while semiconductor controls influence strategic technological dominance.
AI and India’s National Security
- Border Security: AI-driven drones and sensors under the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System enhance real-time monitoring along the LAC and LoC.
- Cyber Defence: AI-based monitoring by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team counters rising cyberattacks, with a doubling from 10.29 lakh (2022) to 22.68 lakh (2024).
- Defence Innovation: The Defence Artificial Intelligence Council promotes AI-enabled drones, surveillance systems, and autonomous military technologies.
- Tech Dependence: India imports nearly 90% of its semiconductor needs, exposing vulnerabilities in AI hardware supply chains and highlighting the need for domestic chip manufacturing.
Government Initiatives in AI for National Security
- IndiaAI Mission: It is a ₹10,300-crore national programme to build AI computing infrastructure, datasets, and research capacity for strategic sectors, including defence and cybersecurity.
- Defence AI Council: Established by the Ministry of Defence in 2019 to integrate AI across military services through over 70 defence AI projects in surveillance, logistics, and warfare.
- iDEX Initiative: The Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) scheme funds startups developing AI-enabled drones, surveillance platforms, and autonomous defence technologies.
- CIBMS Deployment: The Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System deploys AI-powered sensors, drones, and thermal cameras for real-time monitoring along sensitive borders like the LoC.
- Army AI Centre: The Indian Army’s AI Centre (AIC) develops AI solutions for predictive maintenance, battlefield analytics, and intelligence processing to strengthen operational efficiency.
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Key Challenges and Risks
- Tech Diffusion: AI spreads rapidly as algorithms are easily replicated & shared across global research networks, & techniques such as model distillation enable weaker models to learn from advanced ones.
- Ethical Risks: Autonomous weapons and mass surveillance raise concerns over human control and civil liberties, while biased algorithms may produce discriminatory security decisions.
- Corporate Dominance: Frontier AI development is concentrated among firms such as OpenAI and Google, limiting public oversight of defence AI technologies.
- Escalation Risks: AI-driven warfare accelerates decision-making and automation, increasing risks of miscalculation and lowering the threshold for rapid military escalation.
- Model Distillation is a technique in which a smaller AI model learns from the outputs of a larger, more powerful model to achieve similar performance at lower computational cost.
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Policy Measures for Responsible AI Security
- Domestic Capacity: Strengthen AI R&D through initiatives like IndiaAI Mission and develop indigenous chips under the India Semiconductor Mission to reduce import dependence.
- Ethical Governance: Ensure human oversight in autonomous weapons & defence AI systems. E.g., India’s Responsible AI for All framework & global discussions on lethal autonomous weapons.
- Global Cooperation: Support international norms on responsible military AI use through forums like United Nations discussions on lethal autonomous weapons and emerging AI governance standards.
- Cyber Resilience: Deploy AI-driven cybersecurity to protect critical infrastructure, as India reported doubling from 10.29 lakh (2022) to 22.68 lakh (2024), highlighting the need for stronger cyber defence systems.
Artificial Intelligence is reshaping global power; as Vladimir Putin observed, “Whoever leads in AI will rule the world,” urging India to strengthen innovation, governance, and global cooperation.
Reference: The Hindu
PMF IAS Pathfinder for Mains – Question 582
Approach
- Introduction: Write a brief introduction about AI in defence.
- Body: Write opportunities and strategic vulnerabilities associated with increasing reliance on Artificial Intelligence in defence, this transformation, and the way forward.
- Conclusion: Emphasis on strong innovation and global cooperation to effectively integrate AI in defence.
