India Incorporates AI Products In Its Defense Industry
The Indian government organized an exhibition of ‘Artificial Intelligence in Defense’ on July 26th in New Delhi for the first time.
The exhibition was led by Rajnath Singh, the defense minister of India, and its purpose was to showcase the newly developed Artificial Intelligence (AI) products designed for the use of the Indian Defense Forces.
AI use
Singh gave a speech to the participants in which he said that AI has to be used for the peace and progress of humanity.
He said that, unlike nuclear power, a single country, or even a group of countries, should not try to establish their dominance in terms of AI to prevent the other countries from enjoying its benefits.
They introduced the first three products that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) for defense purposes. The first one was a Driver Fatigue Monitoring product.
There was also a machine for X-ray detection aimed at identifying welding defects and the third was a transmission and analysis method that was voice-enabled.
There were two public companies included in the defense public sector undertakings (DPUs), which were Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers and Bharat Earth Movers.
More products
Ajay Kumar, the Indian Secretary of Defense, said that these three products were just the beginning and a ton more would be introduced.
He also claimed that 75 more products powered by AI would be launched by the DPUs on India’s 75th anniversary.
The committee is looking forward to future launches, as these would make the job of the army easier and also enhance soldier safety.
As a matter of fact, the government intends to introduce an initiative on the country’s 75th anniversary called ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, and these products are expected to be its focus.
The genre
The AI (artificial intelligence) products that will be launched will focus on a variety of genres, which include blockchain-based automation, logistics and supply chain management, autonomous systems, human behavior analysis, cybersecurity, lethal autonomous weapon systems, and intelligent monitoring systems.
This would be a major step and leverage AI technology for ensuring stability and peace in the region. However, the defense ministry is not in favor of all the AI innovations that have been made so far.
Rajnath Singh expressed his concerns about the potential misuse of this technology. He said that while they could not stop its progress and should not try to, it is essential to be cautious.
He said that they needed to exercise caution when working on this technology to ensure it does not go beyond their control.
The concerns of the defense minister are not unfounded, as the threats associated with an ever-evolving technology do tend to increase.
It should also be noted that other countries in the region are not following the same path of incorporating AI into their defense.
China is one of the biggest producers of AI-based products, yet its military has not integrated any of these innovations into its defense systems. Moreover, they do not have any plans of doing so in the future either.
