Listen to this articleCompiled by: SherBano
Reviewed and Edited by: S. Sadia Kazmi
Strategic Vision Institute (SVI) organized a webinar on “Military Application of Artificial Intelligence in South Asia” on 14th May 2020. The webinar was chaired by Dr. Zafar Iqbal Cheema, President/Executive Director SVI. The guest speakers included AVM (R) Faaiz Amir HI (M) S Bt (Former VC Air University), Air Marshal (R) Qazi Javed Ahmed HI (M) (VC, Air University) and Ms. Saima Aman Sial (Senior Research Officer, CISS Islamabad).
Dr. Zafar Iqbal Cheema formally inaugurated the session with a warm welcome to the participants and expressed his gratitude for their attendance. He mentioned this webinar was continuation of the regularly organized SVI In-house seminars that have been graced by prominent professionals. In his introductory remarks he stated that Artificial Intelligence is increasingly becoming relevant and important. While defining the artificial intelligence he explained thatthis is the development and employment of contemporary electronic machines e.g. computers, robots, mobiles etc. to simulate human intelligence. These machines are used to perform functions which human beings have been carrying out themselves. However, these machines perform these tasks more proficiently and accurately and that too in lesser time. Therefore, the artificial intelligence is being developed and employed in the military affairs with direct impact on the conflict and the warfare. Hence its military application has now become quite important.
After his introductory remarks Dr. Cheema invited the first speaker of the session AVM Faaiz Amir who spoke on ‘Race in Artificial Intelligence and Global Military Transformations’. He divided his presentation in two parts. First, he distinctly elaborated the growing impact of Artificial Intelligence on military affairs and analyzed if this transformational influence is revolutionary or evolutionary in nature. Second, he evaluated the race among the states in pursuit of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
While highlighting the potential of AI, he began with explaining the current position of AI in global arena followed by elaborating its long-term goals. Experts mutually agreed on categorizing AI into three types: a) Artificial Narrow Intelligence, b) Artificial General Intelligence, and c) Artificial Superintelligence. All current AI functions fall into Artificial Narrow Intelligence category. He stated that Machine Learning (ML) stands as the most primitive role of AI. Machines learn by recognizing patterns of huge databases. Through the integration of sensors and platforms, AI is not only capable of rapid data collection, but also its analysis and dissemination. Thus, AI acts as a tool for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Moreover, as all semiautonomous and autonomous weapons systems use such platforms and sensors, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning work to provide precision and accuracy of targeting.
AVM Faaiz Amir explained how AI is transforming the warfare. He referred to a report by the US Congress titled ‘Artificial Intelligence and National Security’ published in 2019 that highlights seven AI applications for defense and their impact on Command and Control, Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS), cyberspace operations, strategic stability, and the non-state actors.
AI and the Command and Control systems: Today it is a common knowledge that the future wars are expected to be informational and data intensive in nature. AI allows for retaining and analyzing vast amount of data. Thus, in case of wars and conflicts, AI systems once matured could provide real time analysis of fatalities. In the long run, this fact could be particularly consequential as AI helps in a more informed military decision-making while simultaneously shortening the decision-making cycle. Additionally, AI would assist in disrupting the enemy’s command and coordination i.e. OODA loop (observe, orient, decide and act), thereby increasing the speed and scale of military action. One of the most crucial advantages for the systems is that the application of AI, provides the ability to think of strategies beyond human imagination thus, lessening the fog of war. For instance, the US Air force is developing a system that is multi-domain command and control which aims to centralize planning and execution of air, sea, land, cyberspace and space-based operations. AI would be able to form a common operating unit for decision-makers to gather and analyze the information from all these domains. This single development is likely to contribute to all principles of war such as surprise, offensive action, deception, concentration of force, flexibility, cooperation, and administration.
AI and the Weapon Systems (LAWS): There is a growing fear that LAWS responding to threats would increase the probability of unintended military conflict. LAWS are capable of selecting, detecting and engaging target with minimum or no human intervention. These killer robots work on multiple sensors, computer algorithms and onboard weapons. Israel and South Korea have developed several types of autonomous stationary weapons capable of attacking without human intervention. There are remote weapon stations and iron drones (missile defense system). The proliferation of autonomous weapon systems poses risk to global security. The biggest controversy revolves around these weapon systems is that should a robot, irrespective of its precision and calculation, be allowed to make decisions where human lives are at stake? There are serious issues of laws, ethics and arms control that arise from the development of such capabilities. At present no global consensus exists for dealing with such issues. US, China and Russia remain reluctant to entertain any constraints on these capabilities due to potential future operational advantage.
AI in the cyber domain: Today the cyber-attacks have become more targeted and powerful posing great threat to cyber security systems. For the currently existing narrow AI systems, there is a moderate level of safety mechanism in place. In case of a single breach by artificial superintelligence, there could be catastrophic results. Since the aim of cybersecurity is to reduce the frequency of attacks on intelligence systems, this domain could gain the most from introducing AI.
AI and Strategic Stability: AI generally has destabilizing effects on strategic stability. LAWS are a threat to strategic stability. AI could enable conventional weapons with the precision that could challenge strategic weapons. This would undermine the foundation of strategic stability.
AI and Non-state actors: If employed by the non-state actors, the AI could significantly empower them. Since AI is not driven by the governments but by the private sector, the commercial developments in the field of AI and Machine Learning could lower the barrier of entry for non-state actors. These actors could easily gain access to lethal autonomous weapon systems, providing them with the potential to cause greater destruction without manpower. NSAs could breach national security systems with the help of AI. Therefore, there is a need to introduce some international safety protocols for limiting the access of non-state actors to these systems.
AVM Faaiz Amir concluded with highlighting the challenges that the AI applications bring in the form of vulnerabilities. AI increases the chance of algorithm biases and technical debt. Speed of AI could increase the possibility of destabilizing combat. These challenges could instigate serious catastrophe. The current race in AI indicates massive economic investments by the major powers. As Russian President Viladimir Putin said, “The one who becomes the leader in this sphere (AI and ML) will be the ruler of the world.” Russia, US and China all are heading to get advanced autonomous and semiautonomous weapons. This further validate that AI has evolutionary effects on military affairs in the present times and for the coming decades.
The second speaker Air Marshal Qazi Javed Ahmed talked about the “Opportunities and Risks Posed by the Artificial Intelligence in South Asia (Post COVID-19)”. He opined that the AI capabilities carry universal implications and can’t be confined to a particular area. Hence whatever happens in the world in the domain of AI, will also have an effect on the South Asian region. This is simply because the world is interconnected. Therefore, the phenomenon of Artificial Intelligence should not be viewed in isolation.
Talking about the post-COVID world order and how the AI will develop further, he highlighted the most effected sector i.e. global economy. Recession is one of the inevitable results of pandemic which many of the development countries and even the advanced countries will go through. The buying power as well as the defense budget will be reduced. Hence, this will have an effect on investment in the defense industries in the future. However, this could be impetus for the smaller and even the larger countries to develop a more effective system of non-contact warfare. The post-COVID world has to be seen in the light of some important questions such as: where will the global financial institutions stand in the post-COVID world, will the FATF remain active, will the IMF be functional, and what is the future of sanctions currently imposed by financial institutions. Furthermore, is the world going back to basics, and “is boots on ground” would have any relevance.
Talking about how AI influences national power, Air Marshal Ahmed mentioned two important points: First, ‘technological asymmetry is capability asymmetry’, which means one has to be technology suave and have technology inducted in one’s military domain in order to remain capable. Accordingly, the technology denial strategies as they are applicable to conventional hardware are also applicable to developments in Artificial Intelligence. Countries which do not have access to the conventional systems will not have access to advanced Artificial Intelligence systems.
In terms of military application in the South Asian region, he talked about how AI is being applied on Pakistan’s western and eastern borders. Afghanistan has been the live testing ground for the AI. that the US developed a series of robots, communication systems, UAVs, the predators, the global hawk etc., and applied all these systems in Afghanistan. Iran is also another model. Iran has done a lot of indigenous work in space, military programs, and for the research and development of intelligent weapons. Only recently, Iran had been able to launch highly accurate strikes on Saudi oil infrastructure. However, the maturity of the Iranian systems is questionable e.g. Iran shot down the Ukrainian aircraft a few months ago and also shot and sunk one of its own boats. China is another example who has effectively employed the AI to deal with and manage the current pandemic. Almost half of the AI startups in the world are based in China. The country is now moving from 5G to 6G network. This rapid development in the field of AI may lead to the creation of two global systems: an American and a Chinese system. Hence, soon the countries will have to decide which camp to join or whether it needs to maintain a balance between the both. For Pakistan the obvious option would be China for the development and progress of its own AI industry.
Within the South Asian region, so far India is the only country actively working on Artificial Intelligence. It was after some initial lag that India came out with a strategy in 2018.Earlier a task force was made which had members from all the core groups from the industries. Today India offers a US $180 billion lucrative IT market. Almost 8% of the world companies are India owned with US $ 70billion export business. They also have deep links with Silicon Valley where almost 2lac Indians are working. The founders of 1000 companies in the Silicon Valley are Indians. Apart from that India enjoys full international support also. AI is also playing crucial role in Indian national security establishment and receiving heavy foreign investment. Most of the Indian networks are not indigenous. They are developed in collaboration with the western companies as their financial donors and technical support providers. Same is true for weaponry space and intelligence system. All this makes India a likely emerging AI power-house not just in the region but beyond, owing to plenty of opportunities and human resource available to the country. However, all this massive support and investment which India is enjoying at the moment may also pose a challenge of ‘integration’ for a country like India where OEMs are quite different. Simultaneously, it may also lead to less incentive for indigenization.
As far as the market size of AI in Pakistan is concerned, it has been quite consistent in its growth potential over the past few years. The IT export target of US $10 billion is planned to be achieved by the end of this year. Pakistan offers quite a lucrative market owing to the presence of sufficient resources. With regards to IT potential in Pakistan, 40% of the population has the excess to 3G and 4G and there are 35 million active social media subscribers. Since 2010 there has been 1000 startups in Pakistan and some of them have done internationally very well. In terms of demographic and business environment, 65%of the Pakistan’s population is of youngsters. Hence IT domain is well suited for all the youngsters and offer them enough job opportunities. However, the IT industry is nascent at present which is a big challenge for Pakistan. In terms of international links and cooperation, being a nuclear Muslim power there are a lot of limitations. Here also comes the element of national security of Pakistan which may have to face huge challenges in terms of relying on powers outside Pakistan. Due to its large population, exploitation of data is also a challenge. Nonetheless, Pakistan has taken effective initiatives to meet these challenges. The government has developed and working on a number of policies and programs. Their implementation, however, will remain to be a real problem for Pakistan. AI can play a huge role in educational sector as well. Pakistan must teach all its senior management about the growing technologies of AI. Pakistan needs to build incentives for the youth to invest in our AI.
In his closing remarks, Air Marshal Qazi Javed Ahmed stressed on the need to think whether Is Pakistan prepared for the next generation war? Does it have robust defense in place against AI because keeping in view that most of the systems are international based? AI is definitely a force multiplier but needs to be linked with other core technologies. In terms of way forward Pakistan needs to invest in the educational sector. He further suggested that the AI must be taught at PhD level. Pakistan needs to indigenize and if it doesn’t it may lag behind. Pakistan must have end to end product development to be secure in the future. He opined that for Pakistan it may not be a question of choice but a compulsion for the militarily to look at the uses of AI because all the conventional equipment will become obsolete and the new equipment will be software based. Pakistan has to navigate with the balanced mix of indigenization and efforts to collaborate with the powers which are developing AI. Lastly, he reminded that with all the massive potentials of AI, one must not get carried away with the capabilities of AI as it is after all an algorithm and algorithm does not come without limitations.
Third speaker Ms. Saima Aman Sial deliberated upon “Artificial Intelligence and Military Modernization in India-Pakistan: Implications for Strategic Stability”. She started off by stating that there are three points which must be kept in mind about military artificial intelligence. The first is the game changer vs the force multiplier. She opined that the artificial intelligence is a force multiplier for the conventional nuclear force related capabilities. It would increase the speed, the precision, data processing, analysis as a decision aid and it will also compress the decision-making timing. This makes it both a stabilizing and destabilizing factor. The second aspect is the secrecy vs the perception of the adversary’s capabilities. AI impact on the stability, deterrence or escalation is a function of states perception of the capability. With the level of integration of AI in an adversary’s military force systems or doctrines, AI could possibly increase the risk of inadvertent escalation as a result of misperception or over exaggeration of the threat by the adversary. The third element is the human-machine teaming or human control. In future military AI will include a significant degree of human control especially in safety critical nuclear domain.
Regarding the military application of AI, it is being done at the operational and at the strategic level. At the operational level AI would be used in automation, robotics, big data driven modelling, and intelligence analysis to locate and monitor mobile missiles, submarines etc. At the strategic level AI would be used for early warning intelligence surveillance systems, command and control communication systems, nuclear weapon delivery systems, enhanced missile defense in terms of machine learning augmented ATR technology, conventional precision munitions which are able to target strategic weapons and finally enhancing the scope of the OODA loop.
Talking about the military development of AI in India Ms. Sial stated that India in 2018 has allocated 30 billion rupees for its digital India program. The initiative was to promote AI and all the emerging technologies. There was a task force established by the ministry of defense which included wide range of stake holders. He talked about three prominent recommendations of the task force report. It states that ‘India should become the significant power of AI in defense especially in aviation, naval, land systems, cyber, nuclear and biological warfare for both defensive and offensive needs including counter AI needs. It further states that “specific policies and institutional interventions are required to regulate and encourage robust AI based technologies for the defense sector”. It mentions that “the government should work with the startups and the commercial industries on using AI for defense purposes”. The task force also considered the AI in relation to the lethal autonomous weapons systems in the air, ground and underwater. It carried out scenario building and conducted war games and training etc. regarding unmanned surveillance, cyber security, intelligence, reconnaissance and aerospace security. On the doctrinal side the Indian Land Warfare Doctrine states “At the core of India’s future military planning would be the effective integration of soldiers, AI and robotics into war fighting systems that exploit the existing capabilities for the success in battle”. It shows that India is likely to incorporate in its arm forces the technological tools to operate various self-regulatory combat systems equipped with AI including military surveillance drones, combat robots and other destabilizing high-speed autonomous weapons.
For Pakistan, AI led applications can improve the capability of its offensive systems both the cruise and ballistic missiles in terms of their precisions, speed, and maneuverability. This could be a possible choice for Pakistan because the geographical contiguity of India and Pakistan creates serious challenges for the survivability of nuclear forces. Proximity factor makes it harder to hide and easier to strike with nuclear as well as conventional means. Compressed decision making, time frames and first strike fears by India can enhance the need for investment in early warning and ISR capabilities. ML (machine learning) could help improve the performance of the early warning radars for signal processing and could be used for enhancing situational awareness in space. Another application of the AI machine learning could be the situational awareness of the strategic assets. Pakistan already has a national command center with fully automated strategic command and control support system which enables the decision making at the NCC to have round the clock situational awareness of the strategic assets during peace time and crisis. As per the official statement ‘all the deployment and the employment are centrally controlled by the NCC’. This can then help to reinforce the assertive control of the nuclear weapons during both peace and crisis time. Furthermore, the AI systems are already being used in the defense organizations for the security purposes such as access control, using thumb impressions, retina scans, and facial recognition softwares etc.
While talking about the integration of AI in military force systems and its implications for strategic stability she stated that a technology in itself is neither good nor bad. The effect that it generates depends on its particular application in strategy and doctrine which would determine whether it strengthens or undermines strategic stability. The integration of AI in nuclear force related system could enhance accuracy, reaction times and overall performance of the strategic offensive and strategic defensive systems. Hence the impact on the strategic stability can be either stabilizing or destabilizing. Instability inducing impact of AI could be in the field of precision and counterforce targeting. Advances in precision targeting along with the enhanced ISR capabilities in an adversary’s arsenal could create challenges for a secure second strike and increase fears of preemptive strike. Even an increased ability to target strategic assets with conventional precision strike capabilities such as hypersonic or missiles with ATR enhanced through AI could heighten the instability especially in the crisis situations. These types of weapons could be employed for counterforce owing to their speed and precision. Another example is the autonomy employed on the underwater drones that could be used in anti-submarine warfare. In South Asian deterrence equation these propositions might sound a far-fetched idea but given the pace of the technology transfers that are happening in India, it is indeed a threat for Pakistan. Until last year i.e. 2019 Indian navy was operating eight maritime patrol aircrafts with its ministry of defense which is currently in the process of approving another ten maritime patrol air crafts to be delivered this year.
Cyber warfare is another domain where AI could affect the strategic stability. AI could help the cyber defenders in monitoring the intrusions and detecting anomalies in the systems. These improvements in cyber security could help protect the critical infrastructure including but not limited to command and control and communication systems. It could potentially strengthen the regional and strategic stability however the same cyber means could be used to inject misinformation in the system. Hence this can have serious escalation implications for the region like South Asia. The recent Pulwama attack of 2019 is the example how misinformation can escalate the situation.
Talking about the implication of AI on nuclear force posture Ms. Saima Aman Sial said that it is the doctrines that would drive the use of the AI. Since it’s a force multiplier, it could be used in either way i.e. for inducing stability or instability. The challenges that are raised by the application of AI to nuclear related systems coupled with compressed decision-making time would have implications for nuclear force postures taken by Pakistan and India. Stable mutual deterrence requires both nuclear powers to have credible and survivable nuclear forces. Currently Pakistan relies on concealment and mobility as means of ensuring survivability of its nuclear arsenal. However, the integration of AI with India’s nuclear force related systems is likely to accentuate the challenge of maintaining sufficient second-strike force for Pakistan. This could lead Pakistan to either invest in robust defensive systems or increase the number of mobile launched systems that can avoid detection.
In her concluding remarks she stated that AI machine learning in a nuclear context is a double-edged sword. It can have both stabilizing and destabilizing implications for strategic stability. ML and AI will not revolutionize nuclear strategy however it would lead to notable evolution in the conduct of the nuclear enterprise. Also, in nuclear strategy, propositions of how escalation might playout in crisis or in war is untested since a nuclear war has not yet been fought. So, the decision support systems would have limited and bias data sets. Military doctrines will directly inform the building of AI which is why it is fundamentally important to see how each country develops its doctrine and strategic force posture because that is how it would use AI to integrate in nuclear strategy. There is a lack of effective ecosystems in Pakistan. Pakistan’s military and strategic community should focus on research and development in this domain to acquire a competitive edge and enhance the defense preparedness.
Observations and questions/ answers session:
Ms. Puruesh Chaudhary (Founder and CEO, Agahi foundation) Commented that China’s biggest challenge is data diversity. If Pakistan considers aligning with China that would require dramatic change in social and political system. She asked Air Masrshal Qazi Javed Ahmed would it be fair for the diversity of Population that Pakistan has to offer to the world? She further commented that Pakistan still has quite a naïve and myopic view on the purpose of AI which mostly concerns with following up protocol around influence and control. Air Marshal Javed Ahmed responded that when it comes to technology controls, being a military man, he understands what technologies are available to Pakistan and what needs to be indigenized along with what is needed and from where we can get it. However, what I was alluding to is that the world will split into two systems i.e. Western and Chinese. Chinese system will very much be there because of the capabilities they have developed and with the price they offer, it would be very difficult to beat the Chinese in the international market. Hence these are the two main core elements for the countries like Pakistan which will not be able to afford very high cost equipment. So, I would definitely go with the Chinese option especially now that the CPEC is developing fast and we have a lot of collaborative model already working with the Chinese. In terms of western technologies, there are serious limitations, so I would stand by my contention that Pakistan should develop deep links of AI with the China.
Air Cmdre (R) Khaild Banuri (Former DG ACDA) asked AVM Faaiz Amir. In context of algorithm bias, the knowledge that AI Machines have are generally based on the data of human experience. What are the limitations in this regard? Or is this an adequate and final solution? He posed second question to Air Marshal Javed Ahmed and asked if he were to pick three main areas of priority in the AI technology realm in Pakistan what would those be? AVM Faaiz Amir responded by saying that the machine learning is based on the data set provided to the machines. Here the limiting factor is that the militaries have very limited training data that can be fed to the AI powered machines. So, when the limited training data is entered, their understanding of the environment becomes very limited. Hence another technique which can be used is reinforced learning where the machines learn from their own experience. This would be the next step just like a robot who tries to scale a wall and keeps falling and reprograms itself to finally succeed. So reinforced learning is the next stage where the limitations of the training data can be overcome. Air Marshal Javed Ahmed responded to the second question by saying that there are three main areas on which I lay emphasis for the strategy for Pakistan. The first is the education of the senior hierarchy which has to take decisions. The older generations need to familiarize themselves with the latest technology and how various softwares such as zoom etc., work. The second and the most important factor is the HR which plays a key role in the development of artificial intelligence world over. The more experienced you are the more valuable you become. Hence there is a serious requirement of retaining HR in Pakistan. There are several incentives offered by the foreign companies to Pakistani HR and most of our top brains are working for the foreign companies. The last is the emphasis on indigenization. We must understand that control over technologies is essential to maintain a reliable and self-sufficient military. However, this is also to be kept in mind that it will not be possible in limited time frame of eight to ten years for a country to be totally self-sufficient.
Lt Gen (R) Naeem Khalid Lodhi (former Defence Minister) commented that the purpose of war is to defeat the opposing will. AI and other disruptive technologies should profoundly change the character and nature of war. Instead of causing physical harm, other ways of defeating opposing mindset has to be used. I was thinking that if somehow or the other we can infect the human thinking processes especially of the decision makers that can cause mental dislocation and will create chaos and fear. AVM Faaiz Amir talked about the evolutionary vs revolutionary path where he said that we will follow the evolutionary path. However, in my opinion we should be thinking otherwise, because disruptive technologies can be better utilized by the countries like us if we think of revolutionary things. A very good point was brought up by Air Marshal Javed Ahmed that AI is not a stand-alone technology. This brings me identify this limitation for the countries like us where we do not have control over the space, internet, data, control of global positioning systems and communication systems. Two things come to my mind as conclusion, one, we must try to convince the decision makers of developmental strategies about where to invest in the coming years. Adding to Ms. Saima Aman’s presentation he said that if targeting penetrability, accuracy and security is improved than I think it will overall add to the strategic stability of the region.
Ms. Shaza Arif (Researcher CASS) asked AVM Faaiz Amir if he agrees that AI despite being a highly advanced technology is equally vulnerable to deliberate deception which could be another major challenge for the policy makers. AVM Faaiz Amir agreed to this observation and said that the machine learning process is based on the data supply to the machine where it recognizes patterns to certain events. If the data supply to the machine is corrosive or it has a biased toward a particular solution or has been tempered and not purified, then obviously the machine will learn what it had been provided. Recently there was a google app that developed a racial biased because of the number of pictures which were supplied only depicted one particular race. So, the data that is provided to the machine will definitely have an impact.
Mr. Waqas Jan (Senior Research Associate, SVI) asked, considering the rapid advances made by China in the field of AI and the accelerating trajectory of the US-China military competition, does the panelist see China successfully challenging the US power projection capabilities specifically with respect to Pakistan’s immediate regional neighborhood i.e. South Asia and central Asia as well as Indian Ocean Region? Also if rival networking and communication systems are developed such as what we are seeing with the 5G and now 6G technologies, would Pakistan be better suited to be integrated with the Chinese systems, US systems or perhaps develop its own indigenous ones? Air Marshal Javed Ahmed responded, China’s rivalry with the US is a lengthy question but the Chinese strategies have always been different e.g. not getting involved militarily the world over. And I think they have been very successful in their policy of non-military intervention and following economic policies. I think the intervention and the China-US tussle will continue. We can link this tussle with the core technologies that are coming up. It is basically the question of control of data. So, the data war is the biggest challenge between the US school of thought and the Chinese. Whoever controls data, will control the AI in future. Other than that. to which system we should align, I think Pakistan needs to have a balanced mix. Balance has always helped Pakistan by having linkages with two technologies. Yes, we definitely have advantages from Chinese systems in terms of cost. The western technologies on the other hand are mature and have better systems but they control their technologies. So, I think a balance would be a better option.
Mr. Irfan Ali (Research Associate, SVI) asked AVM Faaiz Amir if he could elaborate on the massive investment of private sector in AI and how what influence does the private sector have over government policy making in future? AVM Faaiz Amir responded that he mentioned the private sector investment primarily in the field of AI. It was the US market where the private companies are investing in the AI much more than the public sector. In Russia and China investments are primarily in the public sector. In Pakistan as well there is plenty of investment by the military itself in AI. As far as the US is concerned there is definite collaboration between the private sector and the public sector.
Ms. Sherbano (Research Affiliate, SVI) asked Ms. Saima Aman how one differentiates between the militarization and weaponization of AI. Ms. Saima Aman responded that AI itself is a vast domain in terms of military AI. Militarization can have applications in terms of improving the capability of systems that are for decision making or systems which are not related to weaponization. Weaponization would relate to defensive and offensive purposes. Sometimes the systems are only militarized but not weaponized and sometimes the systems are militarized and weaponized as well.
In the end Dr. Zafar Iqbal Cheema, President/Executive Director, SVI thanked all the speakers and the audience for their active participation in the webinar.
Media Coverage
Coverage of the SVI webinar was reported on the national television.
PTV World News
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2310986882536427
YouTube Video
Full Webinar recording can be viewed at the SVI official YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDBqby2m_fU
