In war, the goal is to eliminate a threat as quickly as possible, given available resources. We try to hit the center of a target with the fewest arrows. A key mathematical concept of intelligent design, active information, captures this dilemma. It also helps us understand the role of artificial intelligence might play in wartime.

Active information

Active information is the difference between two sources of information. Picture archers shooting at a target:

1. Endogenous information: What is the size of the target? And how difficult is the target to hit? It is the difference between hitting a squirrel and hitting the moon.

2. Exogenous information: How skilled the archer is who is firing the arrows? What difference does the archer’s skill make?

Let’s say we have a very small target, like an apple on a person’s head. Then the endogenous information is very high. If we have a very skilled archer, like the famous William Tell, then the exogenous information is very small.

Active information subtracts exogenous information from endogenous information. When a small value is subtracted from a large value, it is still a large value. So the active information is still a large value.

That means there is a tradeoff between the active information and the number of arrows the archer has to fire. Let’s say, for example, that have a wartime mission to assassinate a dictator like William Tell’s legendary opponent, Albrecht Gessler. When there is a large amount of active information at our disposal, such as having William Tell shoot arrows for us, the archer only has to fire a single arrow to eliminate the threat.

When the amount of active information is very low — let us say we have Daffy Duck shoot the arrows — then the archer needs to fire a large amount of arrows to eliminate the threat.

Daffy stands a good chance getting eliminated before his target is eliminated. So, we can see how the concept of active information is key to successful wartime missions.

What difference does artificial intelligence make?

A wartime mission features three primary levels: strategic, tactical and operational. Strategy is the overarching goal set by the captain. Tactics are the plan conducted by a squad to accomplish the mission. Operations are the nitty gritty procedures each member of the squad uses to follow the plan.

Each level require active information. Active information is delivered by the military’s intelligence. The better the intelligence, the more active information, and the more effective wartime missions.

So how does artificial intelligence factor into all of this? Suppose Daffy Duck is supposed to take out Gessler. Well, that won’t work.

But what if Daffy Duck teams up with Marvin the Martian? He gives Daffy an extraterrestrial contraption that can shoot a million arrows at once. So, even though Daffy is a bad shot, the sheer volume of arrows shot in a short amount of time guarantees that Albrecht’s dastardly days are numbered.

Marvin’s million-arrow contraption is equivalent to AI’s ability to data mine many orders of magnitude more options than humans. We can mathematically incorporate the million arrows by adding the logarithm to our active information calculation.

But a new twist …

Albrecht gets wind of Daffy’s new contraption. He hides in a house with only a single small peephole. Now the endogenous information is so great that even a million arrows won’t hit the peephole.

But all is not lost. Marvin gives Daffy another contraption: a peephole that seeks arrows. Marvin’s contraption is equivalent to how AI can help our weapon strikes to be extremely precise.

So now the exogenous information is reduced to almost nothing, Even with Daffy at the helm. our mission to assassinate Albrecht is all but guaranteed to succeed. Willam Tell can go back to shooting apples off his son’s head.

As a result, thanks to analyzing effective wartime missions with the help of active information, a concept we get from intelligent design theory, we can see how AI fits into assisting people who must fight wars.