Trusted AI helps enhance NATO’s critical multidomain decision making

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and the pursuit of accurate, modernized and secure data are enabling defense organizations around the globe to sustain decision advantage. This capability is especially important in the context of escalating tensions in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region. When paired with the emergence of generative AI (gen AI), technology can further revolutionize the speed and accuracy of analysis in support of high-operational tempo military operations. However, for country members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and other defense organizations, leveraging these technologies requires a step change in the existing approach to intelligence gathering and analysis.

The opportunities offered by trusted AI and gen AI for national security and defense organizations are many and vary from country to country. We see NATO member states greatly benefiting from automation of processes and operational effectiveness. However, as with any other disruptive technology, these advantages will only be realized if users and departments have confidence in the insights, the algorithms and data supporting them.

Hence, ensuring their safe and responsible deployment with proper governance becomes paramount, and trust, transparency and governance are prerequisites. Defense organizations around the globe must be able to accurately identify, quantify and manage potential risks when it comes to both gen AI data sources and the final output. More importantly, humans, for example, commanders or intelligence analysts, must remain at the heart of the decision-making in the era of human-machine collaboration.

IBM brings unparalleled expertise in the development and deployment of responsible AI by applying principles for trustworthy AI: systems that are explainable, fair, interpretable, robust, transparent, safe and secure to mitigate inherent and emerging risks associated with these powerful technologies. We are leading in the development of responsible AI solutions with our portfolio of AI products, IBM watsonx™, to help organizations adopt AI safely, responsibly and with transparency. IBM watsonx.governance™ provides an end-to-end, automated governance solution built to help mitigate AI risks and improve compliance.

Gen AI, including large language models (LLMs), automation and other technologies can augment critical decision-making processes in high-stakes environments. They empower commanders to make more informed choices by assessing the risks associated with multiple courses of action (COAs) through comparative analysis. One of the ways these technologies can help NATO is with the simulation of real-life scenarios. Situational awareness provides the data to prepopulate the configuration of each COA by exploiting the fusion of multidomain data and acceleration from trusted AI. This securely enables the commanders to understand unfolding events in real-time and evaluate responses to counter adversarial threats.

IBM’s Defense Simulation Analytical Service (DSaS) is a tool that employs use cases from engagements with NATO members and partners. It offers a real-time mission-planning environment which has been further strengthened by using gen AI with IBM watsonx. For example, it allows quick and easy access to doctrine and other defense content, and summarizes data from multiple sources to speed up situational understanding.

The rapid advancement of AI technologies is transforming various sectors and infrastructures globally. Notably, its effect on cybersecurity carries significant implications as policy makers, executives and cybersecurity experts are incorporating gen AI into their operations. At the same time, this innovative technology is also in the hands of adversaries who are aggressively using it to accelerate cyberattacks and threats. As gen AI implementation approaches a crucial threshold, NATO members should accelerate the adoption of these capabilities to counter cyberthreats. AI tools can identify shadow data, monitor for abnormalities in data access and alert cyber security analysts about potential threats by malicious actors accessing the data or sensitive information. This saves valuable time in detecting and remediating issues in real time.

NATO defense departments and providers within their ecosystem should expedite the adoption of postquantum cybersecurity strategies. As part of this effort, utilizing emerging quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms will play a critical role. IBM has contributed by developing two of the three postquantum cryptographic algorithms standards: ML-KEM (originally known as CRYSTALS-Kyber) and ML-DSA (originally CRYSTALS-Dilithium), as published by the US National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST).

As NATO faces the challenges of today and looks into the future, it is critical for defense leaders to maintain a real-time decision advantage. This can be accomplished by using technologies that allow commanders to make accurate, data-driven and mission-critical decisions. By using integrated, enterprise-grade portfolio of AI products such as IBM’s watsonx, NATO can industrialize, scale and simplify the adoption of AI on cloud and on-premises to accelerate processes and power decision advantage.

IBM has worked closely with defense leaders to bolster their organizations from the headquarters to the edge as a trusted partner to defense organizations around the globe for decades. The complex nature of the NATO alliance underscores the importance of trusted partners that bring expertise and deep domain understanding to help defense leaders navigate and adopt innovative capabilities. These capabilities help to advance their mission critical readiness and strengthen the posture against emerging threats.

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