Artificial intelligence in defence: wanted and unwanted research

The perspective the author offers is not that of the dedicated AI researcher but of the systems specialist working in the field of military defence concepts and requirements. The views are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the UK Ministry of Defence. It is a defence research role to assess the possibilities of future defence systems taking into account not just operational needs but also to determine the technical contributions for systems in 10 to 20 years time. One aspect of this is to decide what technologies must be supported, or where they can (or should) be left to the civil sector to develop. As a small part of that process it is necessary to determine where AI has a role, what lessons are being learned from AI research to date, and from some meld of these influences, determine what it offers for the future and how it should be supported.<>