Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of placing (a) transparency, (b) testing and (c) accountability requirements on private defence contracts for the development of AI systems.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The principal policy framework governing the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) safe and responsible adoption of AI is our published Joint Service Publication Dependable AI JSP 936 which sets out directives on AI safety, ethics, and governance. JSP 936 requires that externally acquired AI systems meet the same standards and give the same level of assurance as AI systems developed within the MOD. Under this framework, and in line with the National Security Strategy, we will look to leverage the UK's vibrant third-party assurance market to enable breadth, scale, and learning from other sectors.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what ethical frameworks are in place to guide the (a) development and (b) deployment of AI technologies in defence.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We have a duty to use the best technologies to protect the UK’s interests, and we also have a duty to use these technologies in line with our legal obligations and the values of the public we serve.
All development and deployment of AI in Defence must be legal and responsible. We have set out our Responsible AI policy framework in the Dependable AI JSP 936. This mandates that all AI use cases address specific AI safety, ethical and legal considerations, in line with our five AI ethical principles published in the ‘Ambitious, Safe, Responsible’ policy paper in June 2022.
Asked by: Iqbal Mohamed (Independent - Dewsbury and Batley)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on the (a) development and (b) procurement of AI-enabled defence systems in each of the last three years.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not hold specific figures on the development and procurement of AI-enabled defence systems. AI is not a standalone capability, but an enabling technology embedded across projects in both defence systems and in the business space across the Ministry. Over the last three financial years (FY) spending within the Chief Scientific Adviser's research portfolio on AI has been:
· FY2022-23 - £46.20 million
· FY2023-24 - £52.13 million
· FY2024-25 - £37.44 million
Procurement costs are not separately recorded and are integrated within wider programme budgets.
In August the MOD announced a procurement plan worth up to £180 million for digital decision capabilities to enable scalable operations involving autonomy, including using AI and machine learning to speed up decision making. Further detail on MOD's plans for investment in AI-enabled capabilities will be set out in the Defence Investment Plan.