Master and Servant: Defense AI in Germany

Germany’s defense AI path is caught in a “master and servant” logic. Germany struggles to readjust its input-driven strategic culture, which puts greater emphasis on the socio-political acceptance and legitimization of military power than on the effects it can achieve. As a result, Germany considers defense AI as a tool—the humble servant—subordinate to humans, who must always remain in the loop. Incrementalism dominates, which makes it difficult to assess what defense AI is expected to achieve and whether it delivers on this expectation. As a result, most German defense AI development projects focus on decision-making support and gradual improvements of other technologies in the fields of Command, Control, Computers, and Communications (C4) and Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR). An open-source intelligence system for crisis early warning, AI-based warning receivers for helicopters, and intelligent image processing for missiles feature among the more prominent, publicly known examples of fielded defense AI capabilities. In parallel to adapting defense structures, Germany has stepped up defense funding. While an aggregate number of German defense AI spending is not available, we contend that the country spends around €50M per year on AI-related software development. As defense AI also affects military education and training, the Bundeswehr’s Command and Staff College as well as the University of the Bundeswehr in Hamburg are preparing to adapt existing curricula and setting up new degree courses. Individual military services also explore opportunities for AI-enhanced simulation-based training, while different initiatives have been launched to train defense AI algorithms.