In Britain, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has unveiled its first-ever Artificial Intelligence Defence Strategy, which emphasizes three principles: ambition, innovation and accountability.

In 2021, England confirmed through the publication of theIntegrated Review, its desire to strengthen and modernize defense and homeland security within its country. The report states that national excellence in AI is essential to secure the UK’s envisaged “science and technology superpower” status by 2030. The latter accounts for the enormous potential of artificial intelligence to rewrite the rules of entire industries, boost economic growth dramatically, and transform all areas of life.

However, the particularly tense European political context since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has accelerated England’s desire to prepare and adapt its defense through AI. On June 15, 2022, the British government published a new report in which it confirms its intentions.

Military defense: new challenges in the digital age

In this new report entitled Defense Intelligence Artificial Strategythe Secretary of State for Defence states that he is prioritizing AI research, development and experimentation. His ambition is to secure its strategic advantage through innovative concepts and cutting-edge technologies – and AI is one of the key technologies for its modernization.

As a result, the UK government plans to become the most AI-enabled defense organization in the world through its goals of:

1. To make the nation’s defense an “AI-ready” organization by modernizing its digital and technological tools and optimizing data collection and analysis.
2. Embrace and leverage artificial intelligence as an asset to the British military. The Ministry of Defense is committed to ensuring that every senior official is proficient in the strategic issues around AI and advanced technologies.
3. Supporting the growth of AI companies and providing greater career development opportunities in the field to identify more new talent.
4. Framing the development of artificial intelligences to promote the country’s security, stability, and democratic values by supporting responsible and ethical development of AI. In addition, he would like to create a new position of Chief AI Officer

The British Army’s new AI strategy

By achieving these goals, the use of AI in the service of UK defense will be made :

• Effective – through ensuring the ability to win battles through AI support, and in terms of the country’s ability to collaborate and partner with UK allies.
• Competent – through the use of innovative technologies that will provide significant support to the British military, conduct military operations, and therefore improve the performance of their military.
• Reliable – the safety of AI systems and their reliability will be enhanced through a clear commitment to its lawful and ethical use, in line with the country’s core values.
• Influential – by managing AI issues for positive ends, thereby leading by example.

As of May 2021, AI had already been used for the first time in a British Army operation. Soldiers from the 20th Armored Infantry Brigade tested a device using machine learning to process masses of complex data about the surrounding terrain, allowing a significant reduction in planning time.

While this experiment was encouraging evidence of the development of AI use for defense purposes, the UK is planning to expand and democratize the use of AI, with, for example, the adoption of digital identity used in place of physical documents, such as for passports and driver’s licenses.

Translated from Intelligence artificielle au service de l’armée britannique : vers une révolution militaire ?