Cellphones: Dream or Nightmare
“The ubiquitous smartphone has really changed the face of modern warfare to a great extent. It makes it almost impossible to conduct military activities in secret, and it can catch instantaneous military intelligence, such as troop movements, mobilization of rear equipment and staff,” military expert Xia Luoshan told The Epoch Times on Feb. 20.In war, smartphones have become a tool for civilians to record data about the enemy, located to time and place. Built-in microphones and cameras can record and transmit war footage and provide videos and pictures to social media platforms.
Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyro, has repeatedly touted the exploits of Chechen fighters on TikTok and Instagram, but the troops’ use of cell phones and the internet exposed their location, inviting Ukraine’s military intelligence to launch several attacks.
“If the military uses smartphones, it would be tantamount to suicide because the enemy could easily pinpoint the location of the smartphone for an attack,” Xia said.
Civilians’ mobile communication devices, used for social media, make it somewhat difficult to collect accurate data for direct military attacks on targets because they cannot approach too close to the battlefield. However, “it’s still useful intelligence,” Xia added.
‘The First Open Source War’: Watchdog Group
At the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war, most of Ukraine’s infrastructure was destroyed by the Russian army and its communications network was disrupted. SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk gave Ukraine access to Starlink, a satellite internet access service, so that Ukraine’s army and residents could use the internet and stay connected to the outside world.The internet allows Ukrainians to document people’s daily lives in wartime. Those uploads and posts in various forms sparked global condemnation of the Russian bombing in Ukraine. That, in turn, posed a psychological strain on Russian soldiers.
While the internet, cell phones, and AI affect battlefield news and instant communication, social media has a different, but powerful, impact on modern warfare. In Xia’s view, it “inevitably serves as propaganda that [has] effects on an army’s combat power.”
Bellingcat, an organization that has documented the Russian-Ukrainian war since it broke out, has consulted with international prosecutors on how to process and archive this material online so that it can be presented as standard legal evidence in court in the future, the report said.
“We’ve developed a process that specifically is intended for legal accountability using open-source evidence … It’s the first open-source war,” said Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins.
The Implications of AI for Modern Warfare
Drones and AI are frequently used in the battle between Russia and Ukraine, with both armies using drones to spy on the opposite side or to carry offensive weapons. Drones are expected to quickly seize air control in the region, which is unprecedented.The algorithm was developed by the U.S. Department of Defense’s research agency, DARPA, and is the first time that AI has played a key role in a tactical aircraft. Prior to the breakthrough, AI was only used for F-16 melee simulations.
Xia said that the Chinese Communist Party and the United States are converting some soon-to-be-obsolete combat aircraft into drones. The technology is a practical use for aging aircraft, he said.
“The role of AI is reflected in the autonomy of the system, as it can be applied to weapons such as aircraft, artillery, and combat vehicles. These practices are ultimately about incorporating weapons into an autonomous system or perfecting a system. And the way AI is applied will have far-reaching implications for the future,” he said.
The rapid development of drones and AI has led to concerns about how AI will affect human decision-making in warfare. Currently, there is no concrete international legal framework to define the issue.