Deadly warfare connection: 5G and AI

 

 

By Kate Kheel (Maryland)  

Ever wonder why cell towers are cropping up all over at an alarming rate and why elected reps are so keen to approve them? (There are currently 50-80 federal bills in Congress, and the Gigabit Infrastructure Act (GIA) in the EU.)

And why suddenly mega constellations of satellites are being launched?

If you thought it was to improve our quality of life, well think again. 

“…rapidly advancing technology is causing the most significant fundamental change in the character of war ever recorded in history.” Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley

“Tomorrow’s warfighters will use local and expeditionary 5G networks to move massive amounts of data to connect distant sensors and weapons into a dense, resilient battlefield network.”  US Department of Defense

Emerging technologies are changing the character of warfare. Rapid advances in unmanned systems, robotics, data processing, autonomy, networking, and other technologies enable precision and more lethal warfare capability. 

“5G is a critical strategic technology: those nations that master advanced communications technologies and ubiquitous connectivity will have a long-term economic and military advantage.” US Department of Defense, May 2020. 

“First there was gunpowder. Then nuclear weapons. Next: artificially intelligent weapons.”
Kai-Fu Lee, CEO of Sinovation Ventures

But you need more than just the infrastructure and data: 

You need algorithms combined with data-analytics technology to sift through and make sense of the massive amount of data harvested from every “thing”, everyone, and everywhere. (And yes, that includes you and me).

New AI platforms can integrate data from multiple and disparate sources such as satellites, drones, under-water vehicles, weapons, and sensors, and open-source intelligence allowing for coordination and decision-making in multiple domains simultaneously.

The US Department of Defense has launched the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) to interconnect incoming data and intelligence from all branches of the armed forces into a unified network powered by artificial intelligence. These branches include the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Space Force.

“…the power of advanced algorithmic warfare systems is now so great that it equates to having tactical nuclear weapons against an adversary with only conventional ones.” Alex Karp, Palantir’s CEO

“The most likely scenario is an algorithmic arms race happening at superhuman speed.”

For more info, please visit www.safetechinternational.org and www.space4peace.org