The sovereignty of artificial intelligence is becoming a major strategic issue for the military.
Keystone / Peter Klaunzer
Artificial intelligence sovereignty is becoming a major strategic issue for the military. Swiss defence firm RUAG has partnered with a Lausanne-based startup to develop a fully Swiss and independent AI tool designed for processing sensitive data.
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In Thun, at RUAG’s headquarters, the company recently presented “LLARA” – an internally developed conversational AI tool – to some of its employees. This tool is intended to support technological advancements in Swiss defence.
“I am truly convinced that AI will play a major role across the entire defence sector. This will lead to major upheavals. We’re already seeing them unfold in real time. And there will be many, many more changes,” explains Stephan Hirth, vice president of communications and secure sensors at RUAG, on Swiss public television, RTS.
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Responsible for the maintenance and technological development of the Swiss Army, the company is already considering concrete applications. “I imagine that one day, we’ll be sitting in a tank and talking to a chatbot like this. Whether it’s ‘LLARA’ or not, I don’t know. But I think we’re clearly heading in that direction,” says Hirth.
The challenge of total control
“LLARA” will soon integrate a new engine with improved reasoning capabilities, developed in Switzerland by the Lausanne-based startup Giotto.AI. The company has designed a model capable of competing with its American or Chinese counterparts in international rankings, while consuming significantly less data. This lightweight design allows it to be operated in a siloed manner, without an internet connection – a key advantage for the defence sector.
“When data and processes are sensitive, we need technology that can be deployed on infrastructure we control. For defence, having a portable model that can be installed wherever needed is obviously essential,” explains Aldo Podestà, CEO of Giotto.AI.
For Giotto.AI, sovereignty over data and the technical process is a key selling point. “We’re not yet at the point where 80% of the economy depends on AI. But it’s coming,” says Podestà. “So it’s extremely important – it’s fundamental for a country – to have complete control over the intelligence. It’s not something you can just rent.”
The Swiss Army is receptive
According to the head of its cyber command, “it is crucial for the armed forces to master both the hardware and the models and have sovereign models, because we often deal with classified information and cannot afford to make it accessible via the cloud or through a public model.”
Major General Simon Müller asserts, “Artificial intelligence and machine learning hold enormous potential for the armed forces, particularly in operational situations. We are faced with a considerable amount of data from sensors, for example, and analysing it can prove extremely useful. But it can also be used for pattern recognition.”
Translated from French by AI/jdp
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