Artificial Intelligence in Command and Control

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) is currently leading to major changes in the field of defense and security policy. Central to this development is the use of AI in military command and control systems and AI as a tool for informing or making strategic and operational decisions. The integration of AI into command and control systems raises technological, military-strategic, legal, and ethical questions for military and political decision-makers.

The CMS report Artificial Intelligence in Command and Control examines the opportunities and challenges of implementing AI-driven decision support systems (AI-DSS) in the Danish defense sector. The report's case studies of Israel's “Gospel” and “Lavender” systems illustrate both technological potential and practical pitfalls, including the risk of human actors being reduced to a formal validation role without real critical control.

Opportunities and challenges

The report highlights both the operational gains and legal implications of implementing AI-DSS, including the consequences for decision-making speed, situational awareness, accountability, and compliance with international humanitarian law that arise from the use of AI-DSS.

AI-DSS increase the efficiency of and reduce the need for (human) labor in military organizations' command and control systems. They can ensure faster integration of different intelligence sources, increase situational awareness through real-time data, and strengthen interoperability in multinational operations. On the other hand, commercially developed “black box” models and cloud systems raise significant concerns about transparency, data governance, robustness, and resilience. The risk of automation bias is exacerbated by varying data quality and threats such as hostile manipulation of data. Large amounts of data can also weaken human control and make it more difficult to assign responsibility in the event of errors.

Recommendations

Based on the report's case studies, the report emphasizes the need for updated legislation, targeted development of AI competencies, and clear and well-functioning “human in the loop” mechanisms. The report provides recommendations on how Denmark can best implement and use AI-DSS to address modern security threats.

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Download the report “Artificial Intelligence in Command and Control”.

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