Weaponization of Artificial Intelligence is a reality, says Senator Mushahid

Abdullah Jan

Islamabad: A three-day international security workshop opened on Wednesday with emphasis on strategic foresight in adapting to the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and associated technologies on modern warfare and global security dynamics.

Experts at the conference, hosted by the Center for International Strategic Studies (CISS) in collaboration with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), Geneva, underscored the profound and growing impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies on military strategies, global security policies, and ethical frameworks marking a pivotal shift in the paradigm of contemporary conflict and defense.

The workshop aimed to address the intersection of AI and cyberspace with global security, while focusing on the changing geopolitical landscape, the security implications of emerging technologies, and their ethical aspects. The discussions at the inaugural plenary and the subsequent working sessions also targeted cyber threats to infrastructure, norms for state conduct, and the need for multilateral dialogue for formulating a comprehensive response to the challenges of technology in international security.

“The weaponization of Artificial Intelligence is just not a theory, it has become a reality. In the ongoing conflict in Gaza, AI plays a dominant role. It is the time to address the implications of AI in warfare”, said Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairperson of the Senate Defence Committee of Pakistan.

Senator Sayed noted that the rise in modern technologies was reshaping the contours of conflict and security, and was guided by advancements in Cyber, AI, and Autonomy. The situation was presenting new security challenges that demanded our attention. He said the existing security environment was defined by the increasing utilization of land, sea, and aerial drones, swarm drones, missile systems, anti-ballistic missile systems, killer robots, and many more.

Pakistan, being a global south country, has a consistent pattern of dealing with emerging technologies and is transparent at the same time, the Senate defense committee’s chief said while noting that the interconnectedness between AI and autonomy introduced complexities in decision-making processes, strategic planning, and the ethical deployment of military capabilities.

While highlighting Pakistan’s development and acquisition of emerging technologies, Senator Sayed said that it was mainly in realms of peaceful uses for defensive purposes and was transparent in terms of uses of technology.

He suggested the need for Pakistan to establish an inter-services cyber command under the joint services headquarters to deal with the evolving challenges.

UNIDIR’s senior researcher Dongyoun Cho said that strategic stability, on multiple levels, was affected by emerging technologies, AI, and autonomous capabilities. AI is productive yet challenging and has completely modified the nature and domain of strategic stability in the post-Cold War era. She emphasized the transparency brought by arms control regimes helped in smooth continuation of political processes.

CISS executive director Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi said that technological advancements were rapidly shaping all aspects of life including our understanding of security, and it was pertinent to comprehend the challenges posed by these new frontiers.