To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, to what extent their Department makes use of artificial intelligence in the implementation of its policies; and how much was spent from their Department’s budget on artificial intelligence in each of the last three years.
Answered on
17 June 2021
AI and AI-enabled systems have the potential to transform Defence - from the back office to the battlespace. We will set out an ambitious plan to accelerate the development and adoption of these technologies through a Defence AI Strategy later this year, and are significantly ramping up investment as part of the £6.6 billion investment in R&D announced through the Integrated Review and 2020 Spending Round. This includes the establishment of a Defence AI Centre as part of the Defence Digital Foundry.
AI is an enabling technology that will be used as part of a diverse range of Defence services and capabilities. While over 200 AI-related projects are currently underway across the department - covering areas such as the analysis of intelligence data, the development of autonomous marine vehicles, and the use of AI to support military command and control - the Department does not capture or hold centrally spend data on the AI-specific elements of these projects.