The military has decided to enhance defense artificial intelligence (AI) technology to assist commanders in the field or create an AI combat staff and policy staff system to support defense policy decisions.
The Ministry of National Defense held a meeting on defense artificial intelligence on the afternoon of the 29th at the Yongsan Ministry of National Defense building, chaired by Vice Minister Lee Doo-hee, and announced this plan. This meeting aims to transition the defense artificial intelligence policy from the discussion stage to the implementation stage and to commence practical policy promotion for the application of AI technology in the defense sector.
First, the Ministry of National Defense will unify the organizational system so that the Advanced Force Planning Division oversees defense AI-related work, which has been scattered across various departments. Additionally, the position of the Advanced Force Planning Director, previously held by a military general, will be converted to an 'open recruitment position' to allow for the hiring of civilian experts to lead defense AI policy promotion. The Advanced Force Planning Director is set to begin recruitment next month.
Based on this, the Ministry of National Defense aims to enhance administrative efficiency in the short term through the use of AI technology and build an 'AI policy staff' to support the Minister's policy decisions in the mid to long term. It will also establish an 'AI combat staff' to support the decisions of commanders on the battlefield and promote the enhancement and intelligence of weapons systems.
The Vice Minister emphasized, 'To overcome the crisis facing defense, such as the shortage of military resources, we will dedicate ourselves to innovation through defense artificial intelligence with a pressing sense of urgency, as this is the last golden time.'