At the newly opened Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2025, South Korea’s largest-ever arms fair, industry leaders made clear that artificial intelligence is no longer just a commercial frontier—it has become a defense imperative. Over 600 companies from 35 countries participated in the event, showcasing advanced unmanned systems, AI-powered howitzers, and stealth drones designed for autonomous operations. The technology, long discussed in business innovation circles, now dominates military hardware roadmaps.
The convergence of AI and defense at ADEX comes at a moment of heightened geopolitical tension in Northeast Asia. With a recently announced 8.2% increase in South Korea’s 2026 defense budget and mounting concerns about the North’s capabilities, Seoul is positioning itself as an AI-driven export hub. The event featured, among other systems, AI-enhanced surveillance rockets and autonomous vehicles capable of real-time decision-making in contested environments. These developments raise urgent questions about regulatory oversight, international treaties, and the intersection of civilian and military AI use.
On the regulatory front, global stakeholders are feeling pressure to catch up. While civilian AI regulation has been the focus of summits in recent years, the defense dimension is now forcing governments to respond more quickly. Officials at the fair acknowledged the dilemma: how to support innovation in AI while preventing destabilizing military applications. Discussions included export controls, model-testing protocols, and international data-sharing frameworks—areas traditionally governed by arms-control regimes rather than tech policy. This crossover highlights that AI now straddles multiple regulatory domains.
Corporate players are adapting fast. Tech and defense firms alike reported that AI research is being dual-tasked across commercial and military applications. Memory-chip manufacturers, sensors companies, and software-platform providers are positioning themselves to supply both consumer ecosystems and battlefield networks. At the ADEX show, for instance, partnerships between civilian AI labs and defence contractors were openly displayed. The blurring of civil–military lines in AI development complicates regulatory transparency, poses moral questions, and potentially accelerates arms races.
For consumers and businesses, the bleeding edges of AI in defense may not seem immediately relevant—but they are. Technologies developed for military speed and automation often seep into commercial markets through dual-use transfers: drone navigation, sensor systems, autonomous transport. As military AI systems become more advanced, the downstream impact on privacy, workforce displacement, and data integrity in civilian applications becomes more significant. Policymakers stressing AI safety are now under pressure to broaden the scope to encompass not just “civilian risks” (like bias or misinformation) but geopolitical automation risks, where AI decisions could trigger conflict.
The event also prompted a strategic question: can AI regulation be global when applications are doubling as military hardware? Traditional AI governance frameworks focus on models, datasets, and ethical deployment in peacetime. But when the same algorithms power intelligence collection, autonomous vehicles, or weapons systems, the stakes change. ADEX participants openly discussed supply-chain security, export-licensing regimes, and ethical constraints—areas typically reserved for defense ministries rather than tech regulators. The pace of AI commercialization and militarization suggests regulation must likewise evolve rapidly.
Looking ahead, experts suggest that the next 12-18 months will be pivotal. AI-enabled defence systems entering mass production will test whether existing treaties and export-control mechanisms hold up. Concurrently, as countries like South Korea, the U.S., and China race to dominate AI-defence ecosystems, standard-setting bodies and regulatory coalitions will need to consider consequences beyond consumer technology. For businesses and societies alike, the message is clear: AI is no longer a purely economic story—it’s now central to global power, security, and governance.
