Japan Unveils First Basic Policy on Integrating AI in Its Military to Combat Manpower Shortage

Japan has unveiled its first basic policy on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) in its military to combat a manpower shortage.

Japan has become the latest country to announce its plans to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into its military. The move comes amid a manpower shortage and concerns about the aging population.

The Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara unveiled the basic policy on integrating AI into the military last week. He stated that the country needs to utilize personnel more efficiently than ever before, especially considering the rapidly declining and aging population.

According to studies, 29% of Japanese nationals are aged 65 or older, and this number is expected to increase to one in three by 2036. This poses unique challenges, including a shortage of citizens eligible for recruitment into the military.

“We believe that AI has the potential to be one of the technologies that can overcome these challenges,” Kihara stated.

The integration of AI into the Japanese military comes at a time when the technology’s military implications are being fiercely debated around the world.

Just last week, American lawmakers raised concerns about the threat posed by China’s military AI after videos surfaced of a gun-toting robot dog controlled by AI. Other countries, such as South Korea, the Netherlands, Germany, Singapore, and more, have also called for caution in developing military AI, highlighting the potential for catastrophic effects.

Despite these concerns, nearly every other major power is integrating AI into its defense forces. Earlier this week, South Korea launched an AI chatbot that offers specialized military translations.

Moreover, landmark AI laws, such as the EU AI Act and Biden’s executive order, have excluded military AI applications from their purview.

In Japan, AI will be utilized in seven priority areas, including intelligence collection and analysis and monitoring unmanned military assets. The country will also use AI to detect targets using radar and satellite images—a similar application that attracted global outrage over claims of AI misidentification leading to innocent killings in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

However, Japan has emphasized that its AI integration aims solely to “speed up decision-making, ensure superiority in information-gathering and analysis capabilities, reduce the burden on personnel and save on labor and manpower.”

To mitigate some of the risks associated with AI, one key strategy is to ensure that all systems are manned and controlled by humans at all times.

“AI supports human judgment, and human involvement in its use should be ensured,” the policy states.

For artificial intelligence (AI) to operate within the law and flourish in the face of growing challenges, it must integrate an enterprise blockchain system that ensures data input quality and ownership—enabling it to keep data safe while also guaranteeing the immutability of data.

Check out CoinGeek’s coverage of this emerging tech to learn more about why Enterprise blockchain will be the backbone of AI.

Watch: The future of AI Generated Art on Aym

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