In the age of artificial intelligence, robots will soon represent a large part of the armed forces, according to the UK's chief of the defence staff Nick Carter, who predicted that up to a quarter of the army could be made up of autonomous[1] systems in the near future.
Speaking on Sky News[2] for Remembrance Day, the general speculated that as cyber and space join the more traditional army domains of land, air, and maritime, so will AI systems become an integral part of the armed forces' modernization effort.
Carter warned that decisions haven't been taken yet, and insisted that his predictions were not based on firm targets. He nevertheless shared his visions for an armed force that is "designed for the 2030s".
"You'll see armed forces that are designed to do (cyber and space). And I think it absolutely means we'll have all manner of different people employed because those domains require different skill sets, and we will absolutely avail ourselves with autonomous platforms and robotics wherever we can," said Carter.
"I suspect we could have an army of 120,000, of which 30,000 might be robots, who knows," he said. The current trained strength of the country's armed forces is just under 74,000.
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) is still scoping the opportunities that robotic and autonomous systems might open up for the army. The MoD has shown interest in the potential that AI-powered vehicles have to facilitate the logistics[3] of convoy operations, for example.
Drones have received particular attention, and many research projects are already underway to understand how unmanned systems might assist soldiers in a variety of different operations. Equipped with cameras and sensors, and potentially even weapons, drones could carry out military work in the most