Artificial Intelligence is changing every dimension of the present world. The technology offers an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen different sectors and affect the full spectrum of human activities. While AI is expected to augment human capabilities, it is also likely to escalate the speed of threats we face. 

In order to maintain a technical edge in the global defence and security environment, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is all set to adopt an 18-point AI strategy. This way, the military alliance of 30 countries bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, NATO aims to futureproof its three core tasks – collective defence, crisis management, and cooperative security. 

It’s a fourfold strategy that aims to:

• Provide a foundation for NATO and Allies to use AI responsibly for defence and security purposes
• Accelerate and mainstream the adoption of AI in capability development and delivery
• Protect and monitor AI technologies, addressing security policy considerations
• Identify and safeguard against the threat of malicious use of AI by other states

Adopted in response to “authoritarian regimes racing to develop new technologies”, NATO’s AI strategy will cover data analysis, imagery, cyber defence, and related areas. NATO’s Assistant Secretary-General for emerging security challenges, David van Weel, said, “The strategy would identify ways to operate AI systems ethically, pinpoint military applications for the technology, and provide a platform for allies to test their AI to see whether it’s up to NATO standards.”

Stressing the need for this collaboration and cooperation, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said, “Future conflicts will be fought not just with bullets and bombs, but also with bytes and big data. We must keep our technological edge.”

At the forefront of this strategy, lie NATO’s Principles of Responsible Use of AI in Defence that applies across all types of AI applications. These principles will form the baseline for Allies for using AI in the context of defence and security, any AI applications they develop or deploy will be in accordance with these six principles.

• Lawfulness: AI applications will be developed and used following national and international laws, including international humanitarian law and human rights law, as applicable.
• Responsibility and Accountability: AI applications will be developed and used with appropriate levels of judgment and care; clear human responsibility shall apply to ensure accountability.
• Explainability and Traceability: AI applications will be appropriately understandable and transparent, including the use of review methodologies, sources, and procedures. This includes verification, assessment, and validation mechanisms at either a NATO and/or national level.
• Reliability: AI applications will have explicit, well-defined use cases. The safety, security, and robustness of such capabilities will be subject to testing and assurance within those use cases across their entire life cycle, including through established NATO and/or national certification procedures.
• Governability: AI applications will be developed and used according to their intended functions and will allow for: appropriate human-machine interaction; the ability to detect and avoid unintended consequences; and the ability to take steps, such as disengagement or deactivation of systems when such systems demonstrate unintended behaviour.
• Bias Mitigation: Proactive steps will be taken to minimize any unintended bias in the development and use of AI applications and data sets.

To ensure safe and responsible use of AI, NATO will operationalize these principles across the lifecycle of an AI capability and all lines of development. Also, the NATO AI test centres will develop best practices for Allies, including assisting overall information security and interoperability efforts.

“Underpinning the safe and responsible use of AI, NATO and allies will consciously put bias mitigation efforts into practice. This will seek to minimize those biases against individual traits, such as gender, ethnicity, or personal attributes,” the organization conceded in a document.

To further this work, NATO will work with relevant international AI standard-setting bodies and foster a military-civil standard coherence with regards to AI. 

NATO Allies have also launched the ‘NATO Innovation Fund’ intending to invest around $1 billion in emerging technologies. The Allies will be joined by Lloyd Austin, US Defense Secretary in Brussels to formally approve the plans.