The Weaponization of AI

The Air Force Research Lab is working on prototypes for something called Skyborg. It’s right out of Star Wars. Think of Skyborg as R2-D2 that serves as an AI wingman for a fighter jet, helping to identify targets and threats.²³ The AI robot may also be able to take control if the pilot is incapacitated or distracted. The Air Force is even looking at using the technology to operate drones.

Cool, huh? Certainly. But there is a major issue: By using AI, might humans ultimately be taken out of the loop when making life-and-death decisions on the battlefield? Could this ultimately lead to more bloodshed? Perhaps the machines will make the wrong decisions—causing even more problems?

Many AI researchers and entrepreneurs are concerned. To this end, more than 2,400 have signed a statement that calls for a ban of so-called robot killers.²⁴

Even the United Nations is exploring some type of ban. But the United States, along with Australia, Israel, the United Kingdom, and Russia, have resisted this move.²⁵ As a result, there may be a true AI arms race emerging.

According to a paper from the RAND Corporation, there is even the potential that the technology could lead to nuclear war, say by the year 2040. How? The authors note that AI may make it easier to target submarines and mobile missile systems. According to the report:

• Nations may be tempted to pursue first-strike capabilities as a means of gaining bargaining leverage over their rivals even if they have no intention of carrying out an attack, researchers say. This undermines strategic stability because even if the state possessing these capabilities has no intention of using them, the adversary cannot be sure of that.²⁶

But in the near term, AI will probably have the most impact on information warfare, which could still be highly destructive. We got a glimpse of this when the Russian government interfered with the 2016 presidential election. The approach was fairly low-tech as it used social media troll farms to disseminate fake news—but the consequences were significant.

But as AI gets more powerful and becomes more affordable, we’ll likely see it supercharge these kinds of campaigns. For example, deepfake systems can easily create life-like photos and videos of people that could be used to quickly spread messages.