AI- The Immortal Warrior: How AI Has Enhanced Strategic Planning and Decision Making During Warfare.

Time of India

a day ago

The Ukraine-Russia war:
The Israel-Palestine conflict:
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The United States and China:
India's Stand in the AI Warfare Landscape:
Who Bears the Burden of a Machine's Mistake?
In today's digital-first world, warfare has undergone a seismic shift. Military strategy no longer unfolds solely through hierarchical commands and paper maps. With the rise of AI, strategic planning and decision-making in the military have transformed, enabling real-time battlefield analytics autonomous drones , and predictive war games. AI has quietly taken a commanding position in modern conflict strategy.The recent conflicts, such as those between Ukraine and Russia and the ones that happened in the Middle East, portray proof that warfare is not limited to human reaction time or situational awareness. AI-powered systems have begun to reshape how decisions are made in combat. As global militaries digitize their military infrastructure, the arms race has moved past missiles and reached models.Traditionally, war strategies relied on hierarchy-based decision-making and human-led intelligence analysis. AI-driven systems digest satellite imagery, sensor feeds, cyber intelligence, and troop movements in seconds. In the Ukraine-Russia conflict, 'Palantir's Gotham AI' supported the Ukrainian forces with decision-making by analyzing real-time combat data and offered optimal courses of action. As a result, the decisions made were faster, data-rich, and less prone to mistakes.Similarly, during the Israel-Palestine conflict, 'The Gospel' (reportedly) system was used to generate real-time target lists using behavioral pattern recognition. The complexities of Gaza's urban landscape—this software helped identify tunnel networks and enemy positions. By augmenting human judgment, these tools reduce reaction times and cognitive load in high-pressure scenarios.The Department of Defense's 'Project Maven' in the United States uses AI to analyze drone footage, identifying threats with accuracy. The purpose of Project Maven's existence was essentially for video analysis, to detect insurgents, vehicles, or weapons from the drone footage. China, too, as per speculations, has used AI for war-gaming and simulation training in their military scenarios, particularly in simulations involving Taiwan. They have also used AI-powered surveillance for population control and internal military security, particularly in regions like Xinjiang.The Ministry of Defence has initiated AI-focused collaborations with DRDO and private startups, aiming to integrate AI into logistics, surveillance, and threat detection. However, challenges persist, ranging from limited battlefield data and underdeveloped infrastructure to the absence of clear ethical frameworks. Even so, with rapidly growing interest in indigenous defense innovation and dual-use AI startups, India could emerge as a key player in the strategic AI landscape, not just as a user but as a policymaker and exporter of defense-related intelligence systems.With AI taking on active roles in warfare, the ethical landscape surrounding its use grows ever more complex. It prompts difficult questions, like who is held accountable when an autonomous drone goes off-target? How much autonomy should machines have when it comes to life-and-death decisions?Several other risks, like algorithmic bias embedded in AI systems, can distort decision-making in critical moments, while authoritarian regimes may exploit AI for disproportionate control or aggressive tactics. Furthermore, there exists the potential of an AI-driven psychological warfare, through the means of deepfakes, disinformation, and synthetic media, that poses threats beyond the boundaries of the battlefield.