Japan is considering adopting Maven Smart System, the US military's Palantir-built data analysis platform, for the Self-Defense Forces' command and control system, and a Defense Ministry researcher argues the question is how Japan governs such tools, not whether it can avoid them.
Sugio Takahashi, a 54-year-old senior research fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies, who studies military AI in various countries, discussed the issue with the Mainichi Shimbun.
The military itself is the most conservative party to the introduction of military AI, he said. It is highly wary of harm caused by misidentification.
The US military initially resisted Maven Smart System, known as MSS, Takahashi said. It came to trust the system during the summer 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, when the system proved effective at identifying dangerous vehicles carrying bombs.
“The military has soldiers' lives at stake. We should not discuss AI and ethics while ignoring that.”Sugio Takahashi, senior research fellow, National Institute for Defense Studies
The Self-Defense Forces do not face the same urgency as a US military under daily attack, he said, and so lack the corresponding caution.
MSS has a record of use by the US military, and Japan has little reason to resist adopting it, according to Takahashi.
He acknowledged the risk of depending on foreign-made AI and of failing to protect data sovereignty. Japan already uses the Patriot air defense system and Aegis-equipped destroyers, he noted.
Whether a system is domestic or foreign should be judged on performance, Takahashi said. The wisdom, he argued, lies in designing a framework that maximizes efficiency and effectiveness while securing security.