AI Kill Chain and Autonomy: Getting Ready for Future Tech Warfare

The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies on the battlefield is not just enhancing military operations, rather it is redefining the modern warfare. On battlefields, AI-driven systems have already demonstrated that they can analyse satellite, drone and ground sensor data to provide commanders with a real-time, detailed view of adversary activities. Simply put, AI can be personified as military personnel equipped with sophisticated digital technologies, perfect memory, without any need for a routine sleep schedule to revive and operate. A weapon platform with onboard AI identifies threats and suggests tactical moves, which are futureproof and ready to integrate tomorrow’s tech today. However, concerns remain about AI weapons’ potential to act independently without any need for human agency. To tide over such concerns, militaries must ensure that human judgement is embedded into AI warfare technologies when force is used. It must be ensured that AI may have prepared the kill chain, but humans must make the final call.