CHENNAI, India — India, a country blessed with a robust high-tech industry, is applying its brains not only to commercial artificial intelligence (AI) but also to its military, as its neighbor and regional rival China continues to invest billions in AI research. .
A 2023 report by an Indian think tank, the Delhi Policy Group, said India spends about $50 million a year on AI. The report noted that while India's spending was a “good initial step,” it was “clearly inadequate compared to our main strategic rival, China, which is spending more than 30 times this amount. If we do not want to fall behind in the technological cycle, greater investments will have to be made, mainly to promote local industry players.”
Antoine Levesques, a researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), told Fox News Digital that India “is undertaking its own efforts to build a sovereign national AI capability that can be used for its defence.”
“India has very ambitious plans,” he added. He cited the need to acquire foreign-made chips to “bolster AI hardware capability,” and noted the “abundance of talent already in its tech industry.”
THE GENERAL OF THE INDIAN ARMY SAYS THE SITUATION ON THE BORDER WITH CHINA IS 'UNPREDICTABLE'
The Eastern Command of the Indian Army showcased the latest defense artillery robot during East Tech 2023 in Guwahati, Assam, India on October 10, 2023. (David Talukdar/NurPhoto via AP)
In October, the Army launched a robotic companion, which was able to perform tasks such as traversing and exploring rugged terrain, removing unexploded shells and serving as a stretcher for wounded soldiers. It has two arms and two cameras and a platform with two additional cameras. The robot will be operated manually by a ground controller. The military can continue to develop this technology. The country's navy is also believed to have autonomous aquatic robots that can go where humans cannot.
“This battery-powered platform is built to withstand rugged terrain and measures one meter by one meter,” an Indian Army officer told The Times of India.
The Indian Army's elite unit, the Signals Technology Evaluation and Adaptation Group (STEAG), is researching and evaluating the implementation of emerging technologies like AI and other potential upgrades in the ever-evolving realm of modern warfare.
According to an analysis by Levesques, both India and the United States have partnered and are partnering on AI.
In a meeting in 2022, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met his Indian counterpart Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh at the 9th ADMM (ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting), and AI was among the topics they discussed. Also that year, US President Biden and Indian Prime Minister Modi announced a partnership known as the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies.
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Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh attends the Artificial Intelligence in Defense exhibition at Vigyan Bhawan on July 11, 2022, in New Delhi, India. (Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Levesques described a wealth of talent in India's tech industry. He also noted that India's higher level of English proficiency could give it a slight advantage in “talent availability,” but said that is “not enough to counter China's capabilities.”
“Adapting American technology and developing our own takes time,” he added. He also pointed out that India is doing both in terms of the economic and defense sectors.
Patrick Cronin, Asia Pacific security chair at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC, told Fox News Digital: “Generative AI (based on large language models) in particular is leading to rapid advances in understanding a common operational landscape, so the military can use this for intelligence to see what's happening on the battlefield.”
Indian Army soldiers, CRPF and JK Police officers stand on alert as security is beefed up ahead of the fifth phase of voting in the Lok Sabha elections in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, India, on May 19. 2024. (Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
AI can help evaluate what foreign nations like Pakistan and China are doing. Cronin explained that, like ChatGPT (also a form of generative AI), this technology can be used to provide feedback on real-time simulations and exercises that provide insight into what might happen.
There is potential military use in three sectors: intelligence, training and education.
Cronin warned that “China has a robot army” that has multiple autonomous drones in its arsenal, but still believes broader use of “autonomous systems” in general is “5 to 10 years away.”
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In this April 12, 2018 file photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks after reviewing the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy fleet in the South China Sea. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP, File)
A senior Indian Defense Ministry official told Deutsche Welle that AI-powered drones and robots could patrol borders and reduce the need for human intervention in dangerous situations. Fox News Digital's requests for comment from the Indian military were not immediately returned.
Cronin noted concerns, including the belief that AI, like any developing technology, could be used for many purposes, including those that are nefarious, such as using deepfakes to sow disinformation and other negative aspects.
Thousands of Indians and Chinese in foreign universities are studying artificial intelligence. Cronin said he felt India had had an advantage in the civilian sector of AI development, but that China was countering it with a more “centralized and well-funded” military system.
Indian Army soldiers atop a military vehicle crossing the Srinagar-Leh national highway on September 1, 2020. (Faisal Khan/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“When you think about facial recognition and tie it to a distant battlefield with satellite imagery and a drone that could be lethal, this is something you couldn't have done 30 or 40 years ago, but it's easy to do now,” he said. Cronin. aggregate.
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“The outcome of the war remains horrific and tragic, and must be as ethical, accurate, justifiable and limited as possible. India has a leading role to potentially play in the debate over the growing use of AI in the field of battle or in society in general. In general, these questions are still in the initial stages of what could be the future laws of war and the security barriers of high-tech civilization.
The Indian Army continues to drive its ambition and research in the field of AI as it seeks to level the playing field with China.
