Britain must learn from Ukraine and use AI for warfare, MPs say

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. By contrast, AI is “under-developed and requires cultivation” by the Ministry of Defence to aid British defence, the cross-party group of MPs warned in a new report. “Harnessing AI for defence requires not just updated technology but an updated approach, and in today’s report, we call on the Ministry of Defence to transform itself into an ‘AI-native’ organisation, fully integrating AI into its work and mindset.” The MoD needs to start thinking of AI as integral to how it solves problems and meets its objectives, the MPs said. With the global threat picture ever-worsening, and the pace of technological change moving at a rapid speed, the Ministry of Defence has no time to lose Emma Lewell-Buck Ms Lewell-Buck, the Labour MP for South Shields, added: “Our inquiry discovered a gap between the Ministry of Defence’s rhetoric and reality on AI. With the global threat picture ever-worsening, and the pace of technological change moving at a rapid speed, the Ministry of Defence has no time to lose.” The Government’s strategic defence review gives ministers the opportunity to consider how the MoD can take advantage of AI, Ms Lewell-Buck added.