AI has been described as a “potentially transformative national security technology on a par with nuclear weapons, aircraft, computers, and biotech”. Understanding how to responsibly and ethically apply AI to Defence and Security challenges and counter mis-use of AI by unethical actors is a critical challenge being addressed by Dstl. This talk will describe the critical role scientists and engineers play in ensuring AI is adopted in an a responsible manner, share current MOD thinking on the threats and opportunities presented by AI and describe a set of “AI building blocks”, a framework being developed by Dstl to ensure a holistic approach to consideration of AI systems. Usage of these “building blocks” will be illustrated using case studies of three S&T projects conducted by Dstl that address different aspects of the system.