New Delhi: In two to three years the Indian Army would begin using Artificial Intelligence to boost its strength, said South Western Army commander Lt Gen Alok Singh Kler.

He said the Army will start using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the next two or three years in a constructive as well as destructive capacity and that it would first be inducted into the mechanised force.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar on AI organised for the first time at a field-formation level — at the armoured division of the South Western Command, he said in the years to come, AI will turn out to be crucial for the military in a number of tasks, from utilising information to decision making and destruction of military capabilities, among others. He, however, said that soon enough, the Army will also have to factor in the disruptive use of AI.

“In the beginning, it (the use of AI) will be constructive — helping commanders in decision-making and making sure that any information will be converted into intelligence,” he said. “That will possibly be among the first use (of AI) for the Army in a constructive manner, but soon we will have to take into account the disruptive use of artificial intelligence.”

The seminar brought together eminent professionals from industry, academia, the military and the government to brainstorm on the way ahead in identifying and conceptualising AI technology-based defence applications and platforms for the future battlefield.

Along with the seminar, Wartech, an exhibition on military technologies was also organised.