Professor Birgitte Andersen’s Post

AI in Defence and National Security! This was a special meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence, where we had the distinct privilege of welcoming Dariusz Standerski, PhD, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Digital Affairs in Poland (featured in the picture), alongside a distinguished panel of experts. The discussion revolved around four vital dimensions of AI in defence and national security. What follows is a snapshot of key insights—our full report will be published soon. (i) On policy and cyber security strategy, Dariusz Standerski, PhD spotlighted AI as a potent geopolitical enabler—spanning land, air, sea, and digital arenas. However, he emphasised the centrality of cybersecurity as this crosses all domains, given that modern warfare frequently plays out in digital spaces and through information control. Complementing this, Colonel Hugh Eaton OBE, MA, VR OBE, shared an international defence outlook, highlighting a striking shift: major tech companies are increasingly shaping national security responses, often diverging from traditional national strategies—raising urgent questions around sovereignty and oversight. (ii) Moving to operations, Group Captain Andrew Tidmarsh and Liberty Hunter, illustrated how AI is becoming deeply integrated into air force missions and the defence of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI)—notably vulnerable assets like sub-sea cables. They also underscored AI’s growing role in anticipating and countering cognitive warfare, a threat that blurs the lines of traditional conflict. (iii) From an innovation and commercial perspective, Robert Bassett Cross demonstrated how entrepreneurial AI solutions are swiftly delivering scalable, data-intelligence tools—bridging battlefield needs with commercial technology at pace. (iv) Finally, tackling the ethical dimension, Professor David Whetham, supported by Tidmarsh, reminded us of AI’s profound challenges around responsibility, legality, and human values in defence contexts, stressing the crucial need to balance these imperatives with operational necessity. The meeting was chaired by Tim Clement-Jones and Allison Gardner, and participated in by several APPG AI Vice Chairs and parliamentarians, including Lord Kulveer Ranger, Lord Taylor of Warwick, Merlin Erroll Hay, Steven Croft, Baroness Manzila Uddin , Olivia Bloomfield and others, including the APPG AI Advisory Board, including (to mention a few) Yatin Mahandru, Paul Dixon, Rachel Free, Tamara Quinn, Sarah Chiplin, Ashley Braganza, Laura Bishop PhD, Mark Buongiorno, Chris Morton, David Elcombe, Professor Chris Imafidon and others, plus a very informed audience, and APPG AI Associates. On behalf of APPG AI Secretariat Big Innovation Centre, I also found it a real privilege organising this meeting with such a distinguished panel and group. #AI #Defence #CyberSecurity #Innovation #Ethics #NationalSecurity #AIintheField #CNI #Geopolitics #AIethics #APPGAI #biginnovationcentre