Impact of Militarization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Strategic Stability in South Asia: A Case of India-Pakistan Strategic Environment

Abstract

AI has impacted all domains of life. Applications of AI in military domain is no exception. In the military domain, AI has applications in the field of logistics, surveillance, navigation, intelligence gathering, decision making, communication systems, cyber security, information security etc. It also find applications in the domain of robotics and autonomous systems. AI also helps in decision making. On the other hand, such systems are also vulnerable. AI based systems have huge security related issues. For proper functioning, safety of AI based systems is of huge importance. Moreover, there are many ethical issues associated with autonomous systems. Such systems must comply with international guidelines and humans must remain in decision making. Next, due to conventional asymmetry between India and Pakistan, militarization of AI is able to impact strategic stability in South Asia. The aim of this research work is to explore, the impact of integration of AI in weapon systems by India on strategic stability in South Asia, because India has conducted numerous violations of Pakistan’s maritime boundary and is also involved in manipulating cyber space. Therefore, it is important to highlight the impact of militarization of AI by India on strategic stability in South Asia. On the other hand, the importance of infrastructural developments, indigenous research and development etc., for Pakistan is also highlighted. In this research work, qualitative research approach is employed. This research is exploratory. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews are conducted to gather information and data relevant to the subject under consideration, from experts in the field of nuclear deterrence, strategic stability, AI, ML etc. Also, research journals, books, documents from online sources, expert opinions are explored as secondary sources to substantiate argument.