Project launched at Korean institute to develop AI weapons
Controversy remains on whether autonomous arms are really necessary
By Jun Ji-hye
Hanwha Systems, South Korea’ leading defense business, and state-run science research university Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have launched a project to co-develop artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to be applied to military weapons, joining the global competition to develop autonomous arms.
The two parties recently opened a joint research centre at KAIST, where researchers from the university and Hanwha will carry out various studies into how technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution can be utilised on future battlefields.
Twenty-five researchers from KAIST will participate in the centre, while the defence arm of Hanwha Group will dispatch its researchers in accordance with subjects of research, according to a PR official from the firm.
AI arms, which would search for and eliminate targets without human control, are called the third revolution in the battleground after gunpowder and nuclear weapons.
Such weapons would include an AI-based missile that can control its speed and altitude on its own and detect an enemy radar fence in real time while in flight. AI-equipped unmanned submarines and armed quadcopters would also be among autonomous arms.