This open access book is the outcome of a unique multinational effort organized by the Hamburg-based Defense AI Observatory (DAIO) to portray the current state of affairs regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by armed forces around the world. The contributions span a diverse range of geostrategic contexts by providing in-depth case studies on Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, Ukraine, the UK, and the United States. The book does not speculate about the future implications of AI on armed forces, but rather discusses how armed forces are currently exploring the potential of this emerging technology. By adopting a uniform analytical framework, each case study discusses how armed forces view defense AI; how they are developing AI-enhanced solutions, adapting existing structures and processes, and funding their defense AI endeavors; to what extent defense AI is already fielded and operated; and how soldiers and officers are being trained to work with AI.

Dr. Heiko Borchert is Co-Director of the Defense AI Observatory at the Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg (Germany), an Associate Fellow at the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS), Bonn (Germany), and a subject matter expert at the Hague Center for Strategic Studies.

Torben Schütz is the DAIO Research Fellow for conflict analysis, a PhD candidate at the Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg (Germany), and an Associate Fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP).

Dr. Joseph Verbovszky is the DAIO Research Fellow for defense technology and industrial affairs.