Patent analysis reveals AI's growing role in military technology, suggesting implications for defense R&D.
Recently, in the defense sector, there has been much interest in acquiring weapon systems that incorporate new technologies of the 4th industrial revolution, such as artificially intelligence. This study is about the technological convergence and diffusion of patents related to AI and military technology. We extracted domestic defense AI patents including both military and AI technologies applied from 2015 to 2023, then their cited patents extracted. The analysis shows that the Defense research institute and some defense industry companies are playing a key role, but Defense AI patent applications in the civilian fields was more than that in the military fields. In addition, the convergence of AI and military technology was expanding both scope and field. The significance of this study is that it confirmed the convergence and diffusion of defense AI technology and temporal changes, and also suggested the direction of defense R&D for the spin-on of new civilian technologies.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Hyun et al. (2025) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: