NATO has adopted a strategy for artificial intelligence and will create an innovative fund for military technologies in the amount of € 1 billion. Earlier, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance Jens Stoltenberg announced the relevant plans.
“We must maintain our technological advantages.
Future conflicts will be fought not only with bullets and bombs, but also with bytes and big data.
We see how authoritarian regimes are trying to rapidly develop new technologies, from artificial intelligence to autonomous systems, ”he said at a press conference ahead of the summit of defense ministers of the bloc countries, which is taking place in Brussels on October 21 and 22.
“I expect this multinational fund to invest € 1 billion. The fund will support the development of promising and revolutionary dual-use technologies in key areas of Allied security,” Stoltenberg said.
He recalled that at last year's summit in Brussels, it was decided to create a network of technology centers DIANA ("Defense Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic"), which are aimed at strengthening transatlantic cooperation on promising defense technologies, as well as finding military applications developed in the countries of the alliance. civil technologies.
Earlier this June, Deputy Secretary General of the Alliance David van Ville announced plans to establish a high-tech NATO fund.
According to him, this organization will invest in technological and innovative startups on average € 70 million per year for 15 years.
In addition, he will raise funds from third-party venture capital funds, explained van Weel.
The program will be similar to the In-Q-Tel CIA venture fund, founded in 1999.
During its existence, In-Q-Tel has invested in more than 200 high-tech startups focused on supporting the intelligence capabilities of the United States.
According to David van Weil, the DIANA fund and mechanism will not start operating until 2023 due to the bureaucratic delays that will inevitably arise during the coordination of this project between the 30 countries of the bloc.
At the same time, participation in the venture fund for NATO countries will be voluntary, said the deputy secretary general of the alliance.
New technologies
In 2019, the NATO Defense College presented a report in which analysts called on the Alliance countries to actively develop artificial intelligence programs.
It noted that the improvement of technologies based on artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data will help the alliance to strengthen "military superiority."
"The refinement and improvement of the existing technological and industrial potential will allow NATO to maintain and increase its military superiority, thereby ensuring its contribution to maintaining global security for many years," the document emphasizes.
Information Technology
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© FrankHoermann / SVEN SIMON
At the same time, analysts of the alliance called for rethinking the actions of NATO's "competitors".
In particular, pay attention to the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin that the country that will become the leader in the creation of artificial intelligence will be the "master of the world."
Let us remind you that the Russian leader mentioned this in 2017 during his participation in the All-Russian open lesson "Russia Facing the Future".
“Artificial intelligence is not only the future of Russia, it is the future of all mankind.
There are colossal opportunities and threats that are difficult to predict today.
The one who becomes the leader in this area will be the master of the world.
I would very much not want this monopoly to be concentrated in someone's specific hands, ”the Russian president noted at the time.
Edward Christie, deputy chief of innovation, NATO Emerging Security Challenges, wrote an article last year that outlined some of the principles for how artificial intelligence might work in NATO systems.
According to him, the introduction of AI can ensure the dynamic implementation of new technologies and their responsible management.
Christie believes that this will allow the Allies to more effectively use promising and revolutionary technologies.
“The rival powers are using new technologies with a dual purpose: to increase economic competitiveness and build up their military capabilities.
Allies face a number of daunting challenges as they strive to master new and disruptive technologies, ”Christie said.
He also defined AI as the ability of machines to perform tasks that typically require a human mind.
This includes, for example, recognizing patterns, gaining experience, formulating inferences, predicting, and acting, whether digitally or as intelligent software in autonomous physical systems.
Creeping automation
At the same time, the NATO Secretary General has previously spoken about the alliance's intentions to begin introducing AI technologies into its military systems.
So, in 2019 at the NATO industrial forum, he announced that the unit plans to replace the fleet of AWACS airborne early warning and control systems with AI systems in 15 years.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
AP
© Virginia Mayo
“NATO's AWACS fleet has been our eyes in the skies, supporting our air operations for decades, from patrolling the American skies after the September 11, 2001 attacks to our operations in Afghanistan and as part of the global coalition against IS *.
We plan to replace it in 2035.
This will include many of the technologies that we are talking about today, such as autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and big data, ”Deutsche Welle quotes him.
For their part, experts say that in the future, artificial intelligence technologies will become an area, dominance in which will guarantee military superiority, which NATO is well aware of.
“Artificial intelligence is a prerequisite for future military superiority.
Therefore, much more will be spent on this, and not only the European members of NATO, but above all the United States.
This problem is acute now, and the leading countries are dealing with it.
Everyone understands perfectly well that depending on who is the first to implement the tasks of using such technologies, he will receive an advantage.
Already, elements of artificial intelligence are working on fifth-generation aircraft, on drones or on cruise missiles, "Alexei Podberezkin, director of the MGIMO Center for Military-Political Research, explained in an interview with RT.
However, according to him, the declared volume of the NATO fund of € 1 billion does not look impressive.
“If we talk about the American military budget, it amounts to almost $ 800 billion. It is clear that against this background € 1 billion is not very noticeable.
I think that this money will be directed primarily to those civilian structures that will work for military purposes, ”the expert explained.
In turn, the editor of the newspaper "Nezavisimoye Voennoe Obozreniye" Dmitry Litovkin, in a commentary to RT, recalled that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation made a decision a year ago to create a special unit within its structure that would deal with issues of artificial intelligence.
"The recent exercises Zapad-2021 for the first time showed the large-scale use of robotic systems on the battlefield, but NATO has taken up these issues more actively," added the interlocutor of RT.
There is no doubt that the United States will be the main beneficiary of NATO's high-tech fund, Dmitry Litovkin believes.
“When we talk about any programs adopted by NATO, we must understand that the main investor and sponsor of this whole process is on the other side of the ocean.
America is one of the largest manufacturers of robotic systems; American airborne drones pose a very serious danger.
Accordingly, what NATO is doing now is the mobilization of the European resource to maintain the American military power, ”the expert emphasized.
At the same time, given the current relations between NATO and the Russian Federation, there is no doubt that the technologies obtained as a result of the activities of this fund will be directed against Russia, added Dmitry Litovkin.
"The appearance of this fund is another signal that NATO countries will invest intellectual and financial resources in the creation of systems that will pose a threat to the Russian Federation," concluded Litovkin.
* "Islamic State" (IS, ISIS) - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of December 29, 2014