Opinion | The New Age of Mutually Assured Disruption

Jillian Kay Melchior’s op-ed “The Ukraine ‘Kill Zone’ Is AI’s Testing Ground” (Oct. 21) focuses on artificial intelligence’s ability to make weapons more effective. But AI’s greatest military contribution may ultimately be making conventional warfare obsolete.

Rather than killing soldiers and destroying property, AI could increasingly influence an adversary’s capacity and willingness to continue fighting by disrupting economic activity, military production, logistics, communications and financial systems. Such capabilities could also create dangerous civilian consequences, making restraint and reversibility essential.

During the Cold War, mutually assured destruction helped deter nuclear conflict. AI may introduce a new doctrine: mutually assured disruption. When opposing nations recognize their vulnerability to widespread economic and institutional disruption, the incentives to negotiate could become more powerful than the incentives to fight.

The ultimate achievement of military AI may not be winning wars more efficiently, but making traditional warfare increasingly unnecessary.

Charleston, S.C.