Revolutionising Hybrid Warfare: The Role of Artificial Intelligence

Hybrid warfare (HW) is among the most debated concepts in contemporary military science. One critical yet unresolved question is whether the concept depicts an entirely new empirical phenomenon. Many scholars claim that HW is novel only as far as new technologies are used as weapons of war. Hence, most scholars also conclude that the novelty of HW is limited to the operational and tactical levels of war because, albeit important, technological innovations do not fundamentally change how humans take strategic decisions.

This article challenges this assumption based on the relationship between HW and artificial intelligence (AI). The author asks the following question: To what degree does the emergence of AI influence the phenomenon of HW? This article argues that while technology may traditionally be important only for the lower levels of war, AI has strategic-level implications for the conduct of and the defence against HW. Thus, in the era of AI, the novelty of HW is not limited to the lower levels of war but is pervasive. Given the disruptive nature of AI-based technologies, the Western security and defence community must adopt AI through stronger military-civilian partnerships. Challenges and opportunities are briefly discussed by examining a recent North Atlantic Treaty Organisation initiative, the so-called Defence Innovation Accelerator for the North Atlantic.