The army is not just iron. Czech soldiers will rely more and more on artificial intelligence, which they are preparing to test in some cases. For this reason, they began to turn to technology companies and universities that should help them with this. “In the coming weeks and months, our engagement with the private sector will be intense. We must know what is already there, find ways to collaborate effectively, and use the companies’ expertise to meet our needs,” Deputy Chief of the General Staff Miroslav Hlavac said.
Click to enlarge The military will rely more and more on artificial intelligence, which they are preparing for testing in some cases. For this reason, they began to turn to technology companies and universities that should help them with this.
| Photo: Deník / Jiří Sláma
Basically, soldiers don’t want to miss the train. Artificial intelligence is being trialled in a number of developed countries and, for example, the US Department of Defense intends to use it to predict events in the near future. Next year, the Israelis should present the new generation of the Merkava Mk5 tank. “It should have, among other things, a 360-degree camera system that monitors its surroundings and will be evaluated by artificial intelligence,” explained military analyst Jiří Vojáček.
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Czech soldiers will not have such a tank, but they are striving to acquire their experimental Golem X satellite, which should also be able to perform espionage tasks. It could reach low Earth orbit sometime in 2026. “Artificial intelligence will then evaluate the number of images sent by the satellite,” Vuacic added. At the same time, the satellite will also serve civilian purposes, and others will have to pursue this project.
Artificial intelligence in the Czech army has been talked about for a long time. Recently, Alesh Obata, as Chief of the General Staff, stated that no soldier can process all information and will always make mistakes. “Artificial intelligence will help us overcome this deficiency. We need to expand human capabilities, and the term cyborg is no longer science fiction.”
Training with the help of artificial intelligence
According to him, cooperation between humans and machines must be deepened, and it will be necessary to link command and control systems with information, intelligence or research systems. This can to some extent remove the so-called fog of war, when the leadership does not know the location of the enemy or even its own units. Artificial intelligence is here to help.
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In addition, it can participate in the training of soldiers. New technologies can prepare soldiers for situations that they would not be able to experience in real situations.
Czech universities also want to participate in cooperation with the military. After all, at the end of August, military leaders met with scientists and representatives of technology companies precisely on the grounds of the Czech University in Prague. “We are happy to help our military answer the question ‘How will using AI help me do my job?’ “We are all aware that the technological advantage in open conflict will be gained by the person who first identifies and controls usable applications,” said the president of this university, Vojcie Petraczek.
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It is not without interest that Czech scientists have in the past been involved in a number of projects funded by the Research Center of the US Air Force, the US Navy or NASA. For example, they taught drones to work together in groups. American soldiers presented their visions for the new technologies to government and industrial investors as early as 2005. The Czech military is now beginning to look for them, too.
