On 10th October 2024, James Cartlidge, Conservative MP for South Suffolk, asked the Secretary of State for Defence about the role artificial intelligence (AI) has played in the Strategic Defence Review.
According to Luke Pollard, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Ministry of Defence, AI has been instrumental in assisting the team by processing and analysing over 8,000 responses, comprising more than 2.2 million words.
“AI is helping the Strategic Defence Review team comprehend and analyse over 8,000 responses across the propositions, totalling over 2.2 million words. This is enhancing the review team’s ability to focus on complex tasks, such as applying robust challenge to submissions through Panel Sessions during October and November.
AI is not a replacement for human judgment, but an enabler of greater efficiency and one part of facilitating a more comprehensive Review Process. Decisions on drafting are solely made by the reviewers: Lord George Robertson, General Sir Richard Barrons and Dr Fiona Hill.”
In another question posed on the same day by James Cartlidge, he inquired about the number of submissions received for the Strategic Defence Review. Luke Pollard responded that the review had received input from over 1,700 individuals and organisations, which resulted in more than 8,000 answers across 23 propositions.
“Over 1,700 individuals and organisations responded providing over 8,000 answers across 23 Propositions. Respondents included Serving and retired members of the Armed Forces, the defence industry, the public, academics, Parliamentary colleagues, and our closest allies and partners, including NATO.”
Regarding the new defence review, the Government said previously:
“The Strategic Defence Review was launched by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to make Britain secure at home and strong abroad for decades to come. The review will put personnel at the heart of our future defence, strengthen our homeland security and ensure the UK continues to lead in NATO.
The review will utilise views from experts including military personnel, industry and academics. Defence Secretary John Healey will oversee the review, and the defence review team will be supported by a secretariat from the Ministry of Defence.”
If Chatgpt wrote the defence review would we be able to tell?
I’d be more than happy to see those Collins boats transferred to us sat in exchange for the last Trafalgar SSN. six for one would be a good deal and deals are what we need to do if we are serious about growth of the navy. the Collins in their last refits were expected to operate into the 2930s. they’d be a reasonable stopgap between astutes and the replacement class.
The Collins class were supposed to be decommissioning now after their 30 years of service…but due to politics, that plan was scuppered…
There is a view that the RN fleet needs additional submarines more than it needs surface vessels. But surely such a move would make no sense – unless the defence review took a strategic decision to re-create conventional submarine building and support capabilities in the UK. Perhaps opportunity for another defence industrial partnetship with Germany?
SSK are increasingly being seen as a waste of money. They won’t be able to operate in oceans as snorkelling will be suicidal and their littoral roles can be replaced by UUV’s. for blue water navy’s they are just not worth the cost.
That’s my understanding. That said, I can see Andy’s point. If you had them you would keep them and use them in ‘green waters’ until the UUVs capability matures. They make sense for Sweden but Australia made the right decision to go nuclear.
There’s a joke in there somewhere:
Artificial
Intelligence
Ministers
🙂
😁👍👍W⚓RS
I’m surprised at the number of respondents.
So 1,700 respondents over a period of time .
With the right administrative infrastructure inplace and suitably knowledgable staff to review what is supposedly such an important subject that could surely easily have been handled by the old fashioned methods- no need to be artificially clever and use AI.
What a load of bolox…is my considered un-artificial and (perhaps) un-intelligent but succinct response.
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AI (UK based), robots and fusion energy research should be the government’s top priority to develop and keep it local to the UK. I know the current government has thrown in a few quid in this direction but it is just not enough. Imagine if we purchased & became reliant on Elon Musk’s (or anyone else) tech and one day he just decided to switch it all off remotely, the UK would be up the swanny without a paddle. This tech is evolving so, so fast and the UK government seems to be stuck in the mud over these issues.