Plans for the future of cutting-edge UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) defence technology have been unveiled in a new strategy published today at London Tech Week AI Summit. The strategy and accompanying policy on the'Ambitious, Safe and Responsible' use of AI underpin a new Defence AI Centre (DAIC), which will offer a visionary hub to champion, enable and innovate these technologies across the UK Armed Forces with pace and ambition. In the face of ever-evolving threats to global security, the Defence AI Strategy outlines how the UK will prioritise research, development, and experimentation to revolutionise our Armed Forces capabilities through new concepts and cutting-edge technology to deliver the latest equipment to the battlefield through effective, efficient, trusted pathways. Concepts include AI-enabled autonomous combat vehicles and resupply systems to deliver supplies without putting people in danger, or soldiers on the front-line guided by smart systems drawing on hours of detailed footage captured by a series of small drones. We also publish today our policy on the'Ambitious, Safe and Responsible' use of AI, developed through partnership with the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI), including new ethical principles for the use of AI in Defence.

Plans for the future of cutting-edge UK Artificial Intelligence (AI) defence technology have been unveiled in a new strategy published today at London Tech Week AI Summit. The strategy and accompanying policy on the'Ambitious, Safe and Responsible' use of AI underpin a new Defence AI Centre (DAIC), which will offer a visionary hub to champion, enable and innovate these technologies across the UK Armed Forces with pace and ambition. In the face of ever-evolving threats to global security, the Defence AI Strategy outlines how the UK will prioritise research, development, and experimentation to revolutionise our Armed Forces capabilities through new concepts and cutting-edge technology to deliver the latest equipment to the battlefield through effective, efficient, trusted pathways. Concepts include AI-enabled autonomous combat vehicles and resupply systems to deliver supplies without putting people in danger, or soldiers on the front-line guided by smart systems drawing on hours of detailed footage captured by a series of small drones. We also publish today our policy on the'Ambitious, Safe and Responsible' use of AI, developed through partnership with the Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI), including new ethical principles for the use of AI in Defence.

The government's Integrated Review comes at a time of considerable technological change. The UK has entered a'Fourth Industrial Revolution' (4IR), which promises to'fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another'. This new era will be characterised by scientific breakthroughs in fields such as the Internet of Things, Blockchain, quantum computing, fifth-generation wireless technologies (5G), robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI), which together are expected to deliver transformational changes across almost every sector of the economy. Of particular note are recent developments in AI, specifically advances in the sub-field of machine learning. Progress over the last decade has been driven by an exponential growth in computing power, coupled with increased availability of vast datasets with which to train machine learning algorithms. While machine learning technology can be traced back to at least the 1950s, investment has increased substantially in recent years, and as a result AI is rapidly becoming ubiquitous across the economy.