What if Military AI is a Washout?

Military applications of artificial intelligence, we are told, are poised to transform military power. They might make the oceans transparent to sensor systems, threatening at-sea nuclear deterrent systems like the UK's Trident. They might enable autonomous aircraft that could outfight human crewed planes. They could transform intelligence processing in war, enable all sorts of complex weapons that would make things like tanks and aircraft carriers yesterday's news. The sky, it appears, is the limit. In this light, big states are making large investments in military AI. One aspect of the UK's recent Integrated Review (ahem, "Global Britain in a Competitive Age") and Command Paper (ahem, "Defence in a competitive age") is a bet that investment in military applications of artifical intelligence will offset cuts to things like tanks and troop numbers.