CLAWS Journal
l
Winter 2018 63
Artificial Intelligence in
Armed Forces: An Analysis
P K Mallick
Introduction
Today is the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The current period
of rapid, simultaneous and systemic transformations driven by advances
in science is reshaping industries, blurring geographical boundaries,
challenging existing regulatory frameworks and even redefining what it
means to be human. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the software engine
that drives the Fourth Industrial Revolution. AI is creating targeted
marketing, safer travel through self-driving cars, smarter weapons and
new efficiencies in manufacturing processes, supply chain management
and agricultural production. It holds the promise of solving some of the
most pressing issues facing society, but also presents challenges such as
inscrutable “black box” algorithms, unethical use of data and potential
job displacement.
Artificial intelligence comprises machine programmes that can
teach themselves by harnessing High Power Computing(HPC) and big
data, and eventually mimic how the human brain thinks, supports and
enables nearly every sector of the modern economy. Corporations and
governments are fiercely competing because whoever is the frontrunner
in AI research and applications will accrue the highest profits in this fast
Major General P K Mallick VSM (Retd) was a Senior Directing Staff (SDS) at the National
Defence College, New Delhi.
