Artificial intelligence has quickly become a major part of our world. From powering virtual assistants and self-driving cars to diagnosing diseases and automating insurance claim processing, the technology is more ubiquitous than many people realize.
AI has also permeated the world of modern warfare. In fact, AI is key in information warfare and influence operations (IWIO), especially as it relates to three of the most influential countries, the U.S., China, and Russia. By pursuing AI research and IWIO capabilities, these nations have shown the ability of AI to amplify information warfare tactics, or use AI for defensive IWIO purposes, with significant implications for global security.
Rather than a traditional arms race where adversaries attempt to amass the greatest number of the most powerful weapons, the largest adversaries in the IWIO race have each developed their own focus.
Russia often utilizes disinformation and deepfakes to a greater extent, while China has learned to mimic grassroots support for certain issues, mostly on social media. As for the U.S., it focuses on using AI-supported systems to defend against IWIO by its adversaries. IWIO has existed in one form or another for decades, but the addition of AI brings a whole new aspect to information warfare and the fight for global influence.
AI makes it possible to automate IWIO, increasing both the speed and reach of campaigns. AI’s ability to ingest massive quantities of data, monitor information channels, and deploy tactics in real time is still being investigated.
The U.S., China, and Russia have pursued their own strategies to augment existing IWIO efforts, either offensively or defensively, with significant possibilities for AI.
United States: Identify, Respond
U.S. IWIO efforts focus on defensive needs such as detecting threats. The U.S. uses AI to identify and respond to potential international threats. AI is utilized to sift through reams of online digital data to uncover disinformation, propaganda, and other divisive content intended to deepen U.S. divisions. AI is also used to fight AI by countering deepfakes deployed by adversaries.
The U.S. is also working to improve data connection to the entire chain of command from high-level decision makers to soldiers in the field. Another piece of the defensive puzzle is the deployment of AI and machine learning to protect critical infrastructure by culling vast amounts of data for attack indicators and immediately devising countermeasures.
China: Following Russia’s Lead
The People’s Republic of China has leaned on information warfare since the early 1950s and now uses it preemptively. Given that China currently trails the U.S. in many areas of traditional military power, China has created multiple training centers to continue to build on its information warfare efforts.
Its Strategic Support Force, created in 2015, exists to apply information technology to all military operations, at home and abroad. The PRC is using AI-powered IWIO against minority populations in China and to manipulate public opinion about Taiwan and Hong Kong.
In the U.S., China has followed Russia’s lead and worked to exploit cultural conflicts and increase political divisions. It has used AI to erase negative information, share propaganda videos, and overwhelm social media with misinformation by evading spam detectors. This indicates China is willing to use AI aggressively in service to its IWIO goals.
Russia: Fueling Divisions
Even though Russia trails the U.S. and China in overall military use of AI, it’s devoting significant energy and resources to incorporating AI into its already extensive IWIO efforts.
One of the country’s priorities for AI-driven IWIO is fueling domestic divisions in the U.S. and other Western democracies. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, it has used information warfare to cause infighting amongst enemy populations or encourage popular uprisings against governments.
Evidence exists that Russia interfered with recent elections in the U.S., France, and Germany and used information warfare to support its military operations in Syria and Ukraine. It also hosts workshops and symposiums in hopes of merging disparate AI efforts across its government with existing IWIO applications. Russia’s overall offensive military posture means politically charged deepfake videos, influence peddling, and election interference are likely to increase as it finds more ways to exploit AI in IWIO.
Implications for Global Security
Like all tech, AI will continue to evolve. It’s already playing a key role in the IWIO of China, Russia and the U.S. according to each state’s overall information warfare strategy.
As AI evolves, it will feed increasingly sophisticated tactics that can affect global security and the IWIO landscape. This trend will continue, but the exact nature of these efforts remains unknown since each nation-state will pursue an AI-driven IWIO strategy that aligns with its values and maximizes its security.
AI-powered Security
In response, the security industry needs to quickly adapt to meet the onslaught of AI-driven information warfare. Security operations can help protect government and military operations as well as critical infrastructure, healthcare, and commercial entities.
Since many IWIO aggressors don’t differentiate between wartime and peace or government vs. private entities, security organizations must also take a broad view aimed at overall protection. AI is uniquely suited to drive such broad and crucial efforts.
AI can be used in the following ways by companies, organizations, and other entities to protect their digital resources.
Watch, Anticipate, Act and Learn
While it would be impossible for a human or even a team of humans to monitor and analyze the massive amount of digital traffic on a network, AI can do it with efficiently. Scanning data and recognizing patterns are what it does best. It can detect unusual activity, unfamiliar IP addresses, permission changes, and movement of large amounts of data.
AI can then use that information to anticipate what attackers are planning. It has to be taught the likely next steps, but any entity that has been the victim of a cyber attack, successful or not, usually has that information.
When setting up such a system, security teams can determine a list of actions for AI to take when it detects suspicious activity. Once the immediate threat has been mitigated, security analysts can review the situation and decide how to proceed. This frees teams up to make crucial decisions on actual threats rather than playing whack-a-mole with every mistyped password or legitimate permission change.
Finally, machine learning allows AI to continually improve and even execute prevention strategies on new vulnerabilities. Human security experts still need to monitor new threats and vulnerabilities, but machine learning allows AI to be a partner in cybersecurity.
