The Ethics of Early Crisis Detection - Big Data, AI, and Algorithms in the German Military

Abstract

Technological developments have and will continue to influence our everyday lives. One of them, AI, promises many benefits in various fields, such as medicine, agriculture, or the military. On the other hand, AI advancement encompasses multifaceted risks and challenges, such as data privacy concerns, opaque decision-making, or discrimination against groups or individuals. AI and Big Data have gained more and more importance in military operations all over the globe. The German military has been trailing different approaches to AI-based early crisis detection applications. However, the more insights are gained about AI and the harm human errors in designing algorithms can cause, the more ethical concerns arise. Thus, this paper investigates which ethical challenges the German military is facing while testing and trying to implement AI-based early crisis detection systems.