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Author(s):
Stefka Schmid Thea Riebe Christian Reuter
Journal
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Abstract

Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be impacting all industry sectors, while becoming a motor for innovation. The diffusion of AI from the civilian sector to the defense sector, and AI’s dual-use potential has drawn attention from security and ethics scholars. With the publication of the ethical guideline Trustworthy AI by the European Union (EU), normative questions on the application of AI have been further evaluated. In order to draw conclusions on Trustworthy AI as a point of reference for responsible research and development (R&D), we approach the diffusion of AI across both civilian and military spheres in the EU. We capture the extent of technological diffusion and derive European and German patent citation networks. Both networks indicate a low degree of diffusion of AI between civilian and defense sectors.

Concluding remarks
Both networks indicate a low degree of diffusion of AI between civilian and defense sectors. A qualitative investigation of project descriptions of a research institute’s work in both civilian and military fields shows that military AI applications stress accuracy or robustness, while civilian AI reflects a focus on human-centric values. Our work represents a first approach by linking processes of technology diffusion with normative evaluations of R&D.

Reference details

DOI
10.1007/s11948-022-00364-7
Resource type
Journal Article
Year of Publication
2022
ISSN Number
1353-3452
Publication Area
Dual-use cybersecurity
Date Published
2022-03-08

How to cite this reference:

Schmid, S., Riebe, T., & Reuter, C. (2022). Dual-Use and Trustworthy? A Mixed Methods Analysis of AI Diffusion Between Civilian and Defense R&D. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-022-00364-7 (Original work published)