Russia is increasingly looking to artificial intelligence (AI) to address the shortcomings in its battlefield capabilities that the invasion of Ukraine has exposed, according to experts.
“Russian futurists, Russian technologists, Russian developers are envisioning this slow evolution away from greater human involvement to where humans will be involved as little as possible,” Samuel Bendett, senior fellow in the Program on Technology and Homeland Security at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), told Fox News Digital.
“Some of those statements were made before Russia’s disastrous invasion of Ukraine and Russia’s involvement in this war, which is very manpower-intensive … but that’s something that the Russian military is keeping on the horizon,” he said.
Bendett in his letter to CNAS argued that Russia’s desire to adopt AI could push the country to take greater risks as it seeks to catch up with the West. He drew on public statements, announcements and analysis of Russian-language media to develop his paper, which looks at key developments in the robotics and AI spaces and as Russia seeks an “intellectualized” military that makes semi-automated decisions.
OPINION: WHAT THE AIR FORCE, CONGRESS NEED TO DO NOW TO KEEP US COMPETITIVE
“Such sources provide a glimpse into Russian discussions and debates over the role and utility of AI on the modern battlefield and help analysts understand what the Russians emphasize in terms of AI research and development,” Bendett wrote.
The biggest concern Western officials may have about Russia’s intended use of AI is integrating AI systems with its nuclear command, a goal Bendett argues is at the top of Russia’s list.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during the Victory Day military parade, celebrating the victory over Nazi Germany, in Red Square in Moscow on May 9, 2023. (Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)
While the main, immediate goal for Russia is to use AI for data collection, analysis and “situational awareness,” military forces ultimately seek to integrate AI into decision-making, including when and how to deploy nuclear weapons.
“Repeated statements from officials within the Ministry of Defense and government point to AI as a data analysis and decision-making tool,” Bendett said. “So the nuclear forces will be part of that larger effort to integrate some of these cutting-edge technologies along with the analysis and understanding done by human operators.”
UK PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE CALLS ‘AU’S FIRST LAWYER’ WITH INTERACTIVE AVATAR AI
In his letter, Bendett expands on this point, saying that AI would allegedly assist Russian officials “in the event that the political leadership is incapacitated and can no longer make decisive decisions.” The system, called Perimeter, is an automatic nuclear weapons control system from the Cold War that played into the country’s doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), but the system remains operational today, which Bendett notes as an indication that where is Russia’s thinking.
“The continued existence of the system today implies a preference for semi-automated, rather than fully automated, systems to meet the challenges of high stress, the pressure to understand the unfolding scenario in real time, and the potential lack of relevant information, together with emotions influencing human decision-makers under stress,” Bendett writes.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech to mark the 79th anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II in Moscow. (Tian Bing/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)
“By removing the pressure on Russian leaders to decide whether to launch a nuclear attack on a short, pressured deadline, Perimeter is intended to reduce the risk of miscalculation on both sides and avoid wrong decisions with consequences big,” he added.
One of the main concerns he raises is that while Russia’s views on AI match those of other major powers, it may lack the ability to adopt those systems, especially in light of Western sanctions and export controls.
NATO’S $1.1 BILLION INNOVATION FUND INVESTS IN AI, ROBOTS AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY
In his paper, Bendett listed a number of factors that might otherwise hinder Russia’s development and adoption of AI technology, namely the exodus of tech personnel at the start of the invasion of Ukraine, lack of access to parts and data, and the affected economy as . the main obstacles Russia faces in its AI ambitions.
Bendett argued that Russia’s desperation to keep up with the West could lead officials to rely on China, Moscow’s increasingly close ally, to fill emerging gaps.
In this pool photo released by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping hold an informal meeting in Beijing on May 16, 2024. (Mikhail Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)
“One of the things we’ve found with the imposition of sanctions, starting in March 2022, is that Russia can avoid many of the sanctions and can actually get what it needs through willing partners or through partners that are not in knowledge of certain transactions”. Bendett explained during an interview with Fox News Digital.
“This, of course, includes microelectronics, includes some hardware and software solutions: as long as Russia maintains open trade and relations with countries like China and India and a number of other countries around the world, it will probably have access to some technologies , certain concepts that are necessary for its high-tech development and in particular for the development of artificial intelligence”, he argued.
‘NO CONSENSUS’: HOME PRESS RELEASE ON LARGE-SCALE UA REGULATIONS
Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” told Fox News Digital that AI remains one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “top priorities,” with annual reports on progress in development and implementation.
“Putin once declared that the nation that controls AI will control the world,” Koffler said. “His concern is that if the West leads in AI, Western values and concepts will be included in it and not Russian values.”
“Putin believes that Russia will lose sovereignty if it loses competition in AI,” she added. “Putin once compared AI to nuclear weapons, and he estimates that AI will follow the trajectory of nuclear weapons development – once people realize what a huge risk AI poses if it is not managed properly, there will be efforts to control it. “
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Koffler claimed that Putin has indirectly acknowledged the US as the leader in AI development, citing Elon Musk’s Neuralink as proof that the billionaire will “do what he thinks needs to be done” to advance the technology.
Bendett and Koffler both lamented the difficulty in fully assessing Russia’s progress with AI due to a lack of “reliable intelligence” and an overreliance on Russian government statements, which Koffler warned are often “exaggerations.”
#expert #Putins #doctrine #calls #semiautomated #armies #Moscow #seek #China
Image Source : www.foxnews.com