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Image source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
The big story around BAE Systems (LSE: BA.<\/a>) stock in recent months has been the impact of the conflict across the Middle East. On the back of the world growing ever less peaceful, governments are ploughing billions into defence spending and technology. The FTSE 100 defence firm is Europe\u2019s largest defence contractor and has had investors flooding in. Someone buying the stock only last December has already enjoyed a 42% return!<\/p>\n There might be yet another twist in the tale too. That\u2019s because BAE Systems has just announced a new \u201cstrategic partnership\u201d that aims to bring artificial intelligence into the picture. Here\u2019s what happened.<\/p>\n The news<\/p>\n It must first be said that introducing technology into warfare \u2013 like warfare itself \u2013 is nothing new. Whether it\u2019s chariots, longbows, tanks or missiles, new developments are a vital part of projecting strength. It should come as no surprise that militaries are starting to use AI.<\/p>\n I also need to point out that the nature of the investment is one to think about before diving in. This is a company that produces weapons<\/a>. While the counterargument is that a country\u2019s safety and security hinges greatly on its ability to defend itself, this is the kind of stock that may not appeal to many on ethical grounds.<\/p>\n With that out the way, what\u2019s the news? On 26 March, BAE Systems announced a \u201cstrategic relationship agreement to accelerate the development and fielding of advanced artificial intelligence capabilities\u201d with Scale AI \u2013 a San Francisco-based AI firm.<\/p>\n The collaboration is aiming to use artificial intelligence\u2019s qualities \u2013 such as synthesising large amounts of information much faster than a human can \u2013 by incorporating them into existing and future products. One example given was target recognition, like vehicles spotting enemy drones accurately and rapidly. As one BAE Systems spokesperson said: \u201cModern warfare is won at the speed of data.\u201d<\/p>\n Worth it?<\/p>\n Is this single deal going to see the BAE Systems share price rapidly shoot up? Unlikely. The shares are up 10% since the announcement and there are plenty of other factors that might have made an impact there. Likewise, there\u2019s a danger that this could be a bout of \u2018trend-chasing\u2019 where companies go after the shiny new thing because it sounds good to the markets<\/a>, rather than what\u2019s good for the company as a whole.<\/p>\n I think this is better seen as a sign of where BAE Systems is looking \u2013 forward. It\u2019s forward-thinking companies that tend to do well in this sector. Take a look across the Atlantic and we can see Palantir, which has used AI for military purposes \u2013 the shares are up over 500% since 2024. Another example is virtual reality specialist Anduril, which is set for a show-stopping $60bn IPO in the near future.<\/p>\n On balance? I think this is just another good move from a company that\u2019s already benefiting from worldwide shifts in government spending. I feel the stock is worth considering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image source: Getty Images The big story around BAE Systems (LSE: BA.) stock in recent months has been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519576,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,733,4308,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-519575","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-technology","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}