Ukraine’s military command recently issued a recruitment notice for specialists in artificial intelligence technologies. The notice, made public by the General Staff on Facebook announced that they are seeking engineers and technical experts with practical experience in AI, machine learning, data analytics, and robotics who can solve non-traditional problems in wartime and assist with modern defense projects.
The focus areas are:
• Building and implementing AI software solutions
• Rationalizing command and analytical processes
• Developing code for intelligent operational systems
• Researching, developing, and verifying prototypes
• Integrating AI technologies into defense networks
The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine will go down in history books as a first since both sides have applied artificial intelligence capacities. The Russian side has utilized AI for cyber operations, and producing deepfake media of Ukrainian leaders as individuals in distressing situations. Ukraine has used AI for assessing intelligence operations through facial recognition of enemy operatives and personnel while standing/offensive orders have been developed through using AI directed/applied assessments for tactical planning.
The Pentagon is developing its Mosaic Warfare doctrine using Decision Centric Warfare principles based on a modern approach to warfare. That aim is to maximize the related advantage that speed at which you can make a decision provides you in a battle. The Pentagon’s approach is guided by Decision Centric Warfare principles, using AI and autonomous weapon systems to enhance lethality and provide kill chain functions that are different than standard force-on-force approaches. Furthermore, the Department of Defense has pushed forward Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiative which utilizes artificial intelligence to assess massive networks of sensors and aid in commander awareness of the environment.
In China, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA’s) multi-billion dollar investment in humanoids for conflict signals a major shift in the very nature of warfare. This isn’t merely about faster machines or more durable soldiers; it’s about transcending human limitations entirely. Basically by cultivating autonomous humanoids, the PLA aims to deploy units unburdened by fear, fatigue, or even ethical dilemmas. The humanoids will be capable of executing complex, high-speed maneuvers in extreme environments without risking a single human life. This strategic pivot promises not just tactical superiority, but a radical redefinition of battlefield presence, driven by a cold, calculating pursuit of total operational advantage and an unnerving detachment from the human cost of combat.
The deployment of AI systems is perhaps best understood through the lens of accelerated decision-making, a critical determinant at the tactical level. This characteristic enables AI to autonomously process and execute decisions, independent of human interaction with the hardware, thereby achieving significantly greater speeds. Diverging from their human progenitors, AI systems are devoid of cognitive barriers, emotional consciousness, inherent biases, or prejudices. Furthermore, they exhibit indifference to their own immediate safety, are impervious to sleep deprivation, and possess sustained endurance and full operational capacity for exercising judgment under extreme combat conditions..
AI-enabled weapon platforms possess an inherent superiority in operational speed, unhindered by the limitations imposed on human-piloted systems. Their capacity for sustained high-speed operation, even at extreme altitudes and in otherwise inaccessible environments, ensures optimal performance during complex maneuvers. Critically, as evinced by their design, autonomous weapon platforms offer an indispensable solution for undertaking intricate missions within profoundly hazardous settings, thereby negating any risk to human personnel. The exclusion of life support systems and extensive safety apparatus from their design specifications further yields substantial cost reductions through diminished material consumption. This streamlined approach also permits the realization of more compact and integrated operational designs, which, by virtue of size constriction and stealth integration, result in significantly reduced signatures.
Autonomous systems operated by humans rely on a communication channel between operators and platforms, meaning that the communication pathways create vulnerabilities that can impair systems when interference occurs. During the current conflict, the Bayraktar TB-2 drones used by Ukraine proved very effective at first but became more and more susceptible to Russian electronic countermeasures and were disrupted from human remote piloting. In contrast, AI enabled systems are not impaired by disrupted communications. Collision-avoidance technology, for example, exists in today’s cars that could allow independent drones to identify enemies and engage without weapon control from external systems.
We are at the brink of a radical change in how wars will be fought. The introduction of artificial intelligence into modern warfare is more than just a technological evolution—it is a paradigm change that will alter the nature of military strategy and the human role in warfare. As nations compete to gain the potential benefits of AI and contend with the responsibilities it creates, we must understand that the decisions we make today regarding autonomous weapons and AI in warfare will shape not only how wars will develop in the future, but what it means for humanity and to have agency over issues of life and death. This current conflict is both a test-case and a warning—the future of war is coming faster than we can figure out what it means.