The Update: Exploring the Military’s Use of AI and Its Potential for Addressing Climate Issues
For much of last year, US Marines conducting training exercises in the waters off South Korea, the Philippines, India, and Indonesia were also running an experiment. The service members in the unit responsible for sorting through foreign intelligence and making their superiors aware of possible local threats were using generative AI for the first time, testing a leading AI tool funded by the Pentagon. Two officers shared that they utilized the new system to help sift through thousands of pieces of open-source intelligence—nonclassified articles, reports, images, and videos—collected in the various countries where they operated, achieving results much faster than the previous manual analysis methods.
Although the US military has been developing computer vision models and similar AI tools since 2017, the application of generative AI—tools capable of engaging in human-like conversation—represents a newer frontier.
Why the climate promises of AI sound a lot like carbon offsets
The International Energy Agency states in a new report that AI could eventually reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, possibly by much more than the boom in energy-guzzling data center development pushes them up. The finding echoes a point made by prominent figures in the AI sector, who have justified the significant electricity demand created by new data centers on regional grid systems worldwide.
