EDITORIAL ANALYSIS : A renewed focus on emerging technologies

Source: The Hindu

• Prelims: Science and technology, Artificial intelligence(AI), Generative AI, Big Data, GANs, ChatGPT1 tool, DALL.E2 etc
• Mains GS Paper III and IV: Significance of technology for India, AI, indigenisation of technology and development of new technology.

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

• Emerging technologies that rely on a combination of cyber technology, Artificial Intelligence (AI), unmanned systems, and advanced computing, are in vogue among most militaries.
• The Chief of the Army Staff:Army had identified 45 niche technologies in the field of military applications.

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Context

Artificial intelligence(AI):

• It is a branch of computer science dealing with the simulation of intelligent behavior in computers.
• It describes the action of machines accomplishing tasks that have historically required human intelligence.
• It includes technologies like machine learning, pattern recognition, big data, neural networks, self algorithms etc.
• g: Facebook’s facial recognition software which identifies faces in the photos we post, the voice recognition software that translates commands we give to Alexa, etc are some of the examples of AI already around us.

Generative AI:

• It is a cutting-edge technological advancement that utilizes machine learning and artificial intelligence to create new forms of media, such as text, audio, video, and animation.
• With the advent of advanced machine learning capabilities: It is possible to generate new and creative short and long-form content, synthetic media, and even deep fakes with simple text, also known as prompts.

AI innovations:

• GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks)
• LLMs (Large Language Models)
• GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformers)
• Image Generation to experiment
• Create commercial offerings like DALL-E for image generation
• ChatGPT for text generation.
  • It can write blogs, computer code, and marketing copies and even generate results for search queries.

Background of defense technology development:

• India’s first drone platforms were inducted in the late-1990s by the Army followed by more procurements in the 2000s by the IAF and Navy.
• Through its indigenous space programme: India has launched communication satellites to improve its military communications capabilities.
• GSAT-7: A Navy-specific communication satellite, was launched in 2013, and GSAT-7A for the IAF in 2018.
• The government established the Defence Cyber Agency and the Defence Space Agency to address threats from new domains.

Use of technology in Military:

• Under ‘UDAAN’, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is using AI, cyber and virtual reality to address its operational, logistical, and training needs.
• The Navy is using Integrated Unmanned Roadmap.
  • It is encouraging indigenisation under project ‘Swavlamban’.
• The Defence Ministry, through ‘AIDef’, has showcased its initiatives which includes:
  • The Defence AI Council and the Defence AI Project Agency.
  • They are aimed towards incorporating AI into various allied organizations, such as:
    • Defence Public Sector Undertakings and the Defence Research and Development Organisation.

What steps India needs to take?

• The Ministry and the services need to think more creatively about their approach to emerging technologies.
• The military must be cognisant that technology is not a silver bullet and should not be imagined as a ‘plug and play’ — readily adjusted to existing practices.
  • It needs to be accompanied by organizational and doctrinal changes and a willingness to share data with the civilian environment.

Ethical Issues with AI:

Way Forward

• Jointness, defined as interoperability between the three services, remains problematic.
  • The Chief of Defence Staff has an explicit mandate to create joint theater commands.
  • The need for interoperability is essential especially among the host of emerging technologies.
• There is a need to revisit existing human resources practices.
  • The Indian military prioritizes generalization or specialization.
  • Specialized technology requires greater technical expertise.
• The services should give extended tenures and create promotion pathways for officers intellectually inclined towards this domain.
• Air Vice Marshal Anil Golani (retired): Both civilian defense organizations and the military needs to be more open with sharing data to fully realize the promise of AI.
• Create a structure with adequate safeguards, which allows civilians to work alongside the military to overcome such concerns.
• Fully realizing the potential of emerging technologies requires altering existing organizations and approaches.
  • Such changes should begin from the Defence Ministry.
• Instead of letting its efforts be led by generalist officers, the Ministry should be more open to incorporating technocrats and qualified personnel
  • if necessary, from the private sector and wider industry.
  • This is especially germane in defense production.
• The military must create pathways not just for its own officers but also to allow civilians to work alongside them as technology professionals.
  • It needs to think creatively about the need for separate cadres to tap into the promise of such technologies.

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

What are the different elements of cyber security ? Keeping in view the challenges in cyber security, examine the extent to which India has successfully developed a comprehensive National Cyber Security Strategy.(UPSC 2022) (200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)