ADF STAFF
In 2016, Rwanda became the first nation in the world to use drones to deliver medicine and blood samples. Now, the country uses artificial intelligence (AI) to efficiently schedule the drones’ pickups and deliveries.
In many ways, Africa is breaking new ground in AI use. In South Africa, drones monitor weeds, while in Mauritius, computers crunch health data for better patient outcomes. In Nairobi, surveillance systems work to control chaotic city traffic. Ghanaian cashew farmers use drones to detect tree diseases. In South Africa, a company is digitizing African languages so AI-powered software such as Google Translate can boost connectivity. AI is being used to monitor climate change, droughts, water supplies and locust infestations.
AI is defined as the use of computer systems to carry out tasks that ordinarily require human learning, planning or reasoning.
African consumers, educational institutions, governments and companies are rapidly adopting AI to aid in content creation, improve the delivery of public services and streamline business processes. In the realm of peace and security, AI can enable more effective conflict analysis and early warning, reports Amani Africa, a research site based in Ethiopia.
“AI-driven technology can also enable state institutions to enhance their capacity for enforcing law and order and fighting criminality, thereby contributing to the security of citizens,” Amani noted in a June 2024 report. “Indeed, AI-driven surveillance and policing platforms are deployed for tracking organized criminal networks and responding to or preventing the activities of terrorist or insurgent groups.”
Kenya’s Ministry of Defence acknowledged the challenges in June 2024 when it co-hosted an inaugural workshop with the Netherlands and South Korea on the responsible use of AI in the military. Delegates and military personnel heard about the opportunities, challenges and risks associated with AI military applications. African countries at the conference were Burundi, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Morocco, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda.
At the workshop, Kenya Cabinet Secretary for Defence Aden Duale said that in the future, AI will not only strengthen defense capabilities, but also will be part of upholding the “principles of justice, peace and human dignity.”
“Kenya is committed to ethical AI practices in military operations to promote security and stability in Africa and globally,” he said, as reported by the website Military Africa. “I urge you to share your insights and collaborate on solutions that will guide toward responsible and effective use of AI in our military endeavours.”
AI DEFENSE CENTER
South Africa has become a leader in AI research, with an AI institute dedicated to the defense and military sector. The Defence Artificial Intelligence Research Unit launched in May 2024 at the South African Military Academy in Saldanha Bay, Western Cape. South Africa already had AI research facilities at the University of Johannesburg in 2022, Tshwane University of Technology in 2023 and the Central University of Technology in February 2024, according to ITWeb.
The defense unit is the first of its kind in Africa. The new hub is a collaborative effort between the country’s Department of Communications and Digital Technologies and the Department of Defence and Military Veterans, ITWeb reported.
But South Africa is not alone in AI defense technology. There already have been other advances in AI use by Africa’s armed forces and police:
So far, at least 14 African countries are using AI-driven surveillance and smart-policing platforms. Such information gathering typically relies on deep networks for image classification and a range of machine-learning models for predictive analytics, according to researchers Nathaniel Allen and Marian Okpali, writing for the Brookings Institution.
In Johannesburg, automated license plate readers help authorities track criminals with suspected ties to the Islamic State group.
Zambian officials are using AI to combat misinformation during voting. A 2024 survey of 22 African countries by Yiaga Africa revealed that AI is being deployed for voter registration management, automated chatbots for voter engagement, voter authentication, and cyber threat detection.
At Liwonde National Park in Malawi, park rangers have EarthRanger software to combat poaching, using AI and predictive analytics, according to Allen and Okpali. The software detects patterns that rangers might overlook, such as increases in poaching during holidays and government paydays. “A small, motion-activated ‘poacher cam’ relies on an algorithm to distinguish between humans and animals and has contributed to at least one arrest,” the researchers said. They said it was fair to imagine how such a system might be repurposed for counterinsurgency or armed conflict, “with AI-enabled surveillance and monitoring systems deployed to detect and deter armed insurgents.”
The South Africa-based Paramount Group in 2021 announced the launch of its N-RAVEN drone system, which it bills as “a family of autonomous, multi-mission aerial vehicles featuring next-generation ‘swarm’ technologies.” The N-RAVEN can swarm in units of up to 20 and is “designed for technology transfer and portable manufacture within partner countries.”
WHAT AI CAN DO
AI can improve how countries defend themselves in several ways. It can be used to develop and operate advanced weapons systems. Autonomous weapons are a controversial topic in the military. Some experts argue that these systems could reduce the risk to human operators, but others warn of the potential dangers of “giving machines the ability to make life-and-death decisions,” Military Africa reports. Such weaponry still relies on a human to make the final call.
Predictive AI can be used to identify a missile’s electromagnetic signature and to either jam its signal and redirect it or direct interceptors to destroy it before it reaches its target, reports defense contractor Lockheed-Martin.
AI is proving useful in the development of drone swarms, in which drones or robots are used in large numbers that together accomplish complex tasks. Each of the devices follows simple rules but through their interactions, the swarm exhibits intelligence beyond the abilities of the individual parts. Potential applications include surveillance and combat. “Drone swarms take inspiration from social insects like ants and bees, leveraging swarm intelligence to create a powerful collective entity out of many simple agents,” reports technology company Sentient Digital Inc.
Militaries all over the world are using AI algorithms to optimize supply chains, reducing waste and improving efficiency. This can help reduce the cost of military operations and improve the speed at which supplies are delivered to the front lines. AI is also useful in predicting maintenance issues and wear and tear on vehicles and other equipment.
One of the fastest-developing military uses for AI is in surveillance, where it can power systems to monitor and analyze large amounts of data from various sources, including moving and stationary drones, cameras, sensors, and other devices to detect and respond to potential security threats. These AI techniques also can be applied to such areas as public safety and transportation. In the future, researchers say, AI managers can use their data to locate terrorists who are targeting critical infrastructure such as power plants and cell towers.
AI-powered weapons can be designed to make decisions based on real-time data, enabling them to respond to changing circumstances in combat. The intent is to reduce the risk of human error and improve the accuracy of attacks. So far, the evidence is clear: AI thinks faster than humans can.
LATIN AMERICA NEWS AGENCY VIA REUTERS
Because AI is a general-purpose technology, it can be used in many bad ways. Chief among these is its increasing use in disinformation campaigns. But it also is used in cybersecurity threats, hate speech targeting women and minorities, and to encourage or incite violence in times of crises and conflicts.
“It is reported that deepfakes involving AI-driven voice and image technologies are used to impersonate political figures for propagating false information in the elections in Nigeria and in the ongoing civil war in Sudan,” Amani reported. “AI technologies could also potentially be used to increase cyber-attack capabilities and to design bioweapons and weapons of mass destruction.”
The most serious concerns about the abuse of AI involve its use in making warfare decisions.
“AI and machine-learning systems could have profound implications for the role of humans in armed conflict, especially concerning increasing autonomy of weapon systems and other unmanned systems; new forms of cyber and information warfare; and, more broadly, the nature of decision-making,” the International Committee of the Red Cross reports.
Researcher Koichiro Takagi says AI developers will have to find ways to deal with the speed at which it makes decisions and adapts.
“When human remotely piloted weapons and AI-autonomous unmanned weapons are pitted against each other, human operators cannot compete with autonomous unmanned weapons which have overwhelmingly fast decision-making speeds,” wrote Takagi for Japanese magazine Foresight. “Even if the role of AI is limited to supporting human decision-making and humans make the final decision, there is still a risk of human judgment being dominated by AI.”
SOPA IMAGES VIA REUTERS
CHALLENGES FOR AFRICA
Authorities warn that the haphazard development of AI in all its forms poses serious risks, and not just for military use. The African Union is preparing an ambitious AI policy that envisions an Africa-centric path for the development and regulation of the emerging technology, MIT Technology Review magazine reports. Current debates hinge on when AI regulation is warranted without becoming a roadblock to innovation. Researchers say a lack of AI infrastructure on the continent could hold back the technology’s adoption. Some African countries already have begun to draw up their own AI legal and policy frameworks. Seven have developed national AI policies and strategies, which are at different stages of implementation. A continentwide strategy should be ready to be reviewed in 2025, MIT reports.
AI remains a mystery to many people who see it as able to solve problems on its own but don’t realize that it depends on data inputs. Claver Gatete, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, says the development of infrastructure, including internet connectivity, is key to tapping the benefits of AI, along with sharing the technology among countries.
“Out of the 1.6 billion people who are not connected, Africa really is one of the biggest places where we are not connected,” he said, as reported by the U.N. “If you are not connected you cannot even talk about AI. We need infrastructure, we need energy investment going hand in hand with the IT infrastructure.”
The spread of defense AI across Africa, like the broader spread of digital technology, is likely to be diverse and uneven. Africa remains the world’s least digitalized region, according to the Brookings Institution.
“Internet penetration rates are low and likely to remain so in many of the most conflict-prone countries,” the institution reported. “In Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and much of the Lake Chad Basin, internet penetration is below 20%. AI is unlikely to have much of an impact on conflict in regions where citizens leave little in the way of a digital footprint, and non-state armed groups control territory beyond the easy reach of the state.”
Takagi noted that the future of military AI depends on its thoughtful, intelligent use.
“Throughout history, it has not been the superiority of science and technology itself, but the human intelligence that uses it, that has won or lost wars,” he wrote. “Future warfare may be determined not by the science and technology of AI itself, but by the innovativeness of the concepts that utilize it, and by human intelligence and creativity.”