Context: India is rapidly integrating military AI amid the competition of technologies worldwide. Despite increased defense spending and international partnerships, several challenges are still faced in its implementation.

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India's Current Position in Military AI Development

• Defense Budget: ₹6.21 lakh crore, focusing on modernization.
• Technological Development: Development of systems like Indrajaal autonomous drone security.
• Foreign Investment: Attracted major investments for creating an AI ecosystem.
  • Ex: Microsoft has invested $3 billion in establishing data centers in Telangana.
• International Co-operation: A number of cross-border AI projects with other countries
• Infrastructure Development: Data centers and research centers will be established.

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Some of the key challenges in implementing military AI include the following:

• Data centers are very expensive. Replacing legacy systems means replacing old hardware with the latest hardware systems.
• AI policies are fragmented and there is no clarity on implementation guidelines. The National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence outlines India's vision for deploying AI. It only gives little insight into actual mechanisms for deployment.
• Responsible AI for All paper outlines the importance of accountability and transparency. It fails to make military-AI-specific recommendations.
• The regulatory bodies have not provided much public update.
• For Instance: The Defence Artificial Intelligence Council (DAIC) and the Defence AI Project Agency (DAIPA) have not issued any updates.
• The Minister of External Affairs compared AI to nuclear weapons — AI will be as dangerous for the world as nuclear bombs once were" — in terms of their potential dangers to the world.
• The Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force have separate doctrines, systems, and communication practices. This is going to seriously hamper interoperability and procurement of systems for joint operations.
• One of the issues in developing AI for defence is the PSU dependence where most of the high-quality advanced systems are coming from private entities and startups.
• Lacking adequate technological infrastructure and funds.

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UPSC Practice Question

The integration of Artificial Intelligence in military operations presents both opportunities and challenges for India's defense preparedness. Comment. (150 words, 10 marks)