Report

The military use of AI: Challenges and opportunities for Taiwan

Think tank: RUSI

Author(s): Cheng-Hung Hsu

October 22, 2024

This report from UK think tank RUSI examines the challenges and opportunities Taiwan will need to consider for the military application of AI.

This paper examines the challenges and opportunities Taiwan will need to consider for the military application of AI.

Increasing cross-strait tensions between mainland China and Taiwan suggest the need for the latter to take a fresh look at the advantages offered by new defence approaches. With a defence budget vastly outpaced by China, Taiwan’s Overall Defense Concept recognises a need to look to cutting-edge technologies to offset scale imbalances.

This paper examines the challenges and opportunities Taiwan will need to consider for the military application of one such emerging technology: AI. Key challenges in the use of AI include: data-security concerns; ethical implications of autonomous weapons; unpredictability and unreliability of systems; high costs of implementation and maintenance; potential for increased use of armed force; issues of accountability and responsibility; risks associated with deepfake technology; and the danger of over-reliance on AI systems leading to a loss of traditional human military skills.