China is leading the way in military artificial intelligence (AI) development with ChatGPT-like technology included into an experimental project.
A group of scientists working with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in China is trying to make the country’s military AI better at dealing with unexpected situations involving humans.
Many stories in Chinese media suggest that they want the AI to be more intelligent when dealing with situations involving human opponents.
China has officially acknowledged the use of commercial large language models (LLMs) in military applications for the first time with the unveiling of this AI project.
Moreover, this move raises questions about the potential risks and ethical considerations associated with unleashing sophisticated AI, which has been praised for its capabilities but also criticized for its lack of control and potential to lead to unintended consequences has been lauded for its capabilities but also criticized for the lack of control and potential for unintended consequences.
The research team has established a physical link between their AI system and commercially developed language models such as Baidu’s Ernie and iFlyTek’s Spark. and commercially developed language models, namely Baidu’s Ernie and iFlytek’s Spark.
The military AI can translate frontline reports and a wealth of sensor data into text or images.
It shares this with other commercial models. Once collected, the military AI can communicate with them without the need for human intervention.
It even creates suggestions for more detailed discussions, like practicing for battles, all on its own.
A peer-reviewed report detailing the project was made accessible in the Chinese academic journal Command Control & Simulation in December 2023.
In a research paper, scientist Sun Yifeng and his team from the PLA’s Information Engineering University stated that both people and machines could benefit from the project.
One scientist has warned that if the issue is not handled carefully, it could turn into a story like the ones in popular culture, and comparisons to those scenarios have been made. Terminator films, where AI becomes uncontrollable.
The project’s objectives are clarified in the released document, which highlights the aim of making military AI more “human-like.”
This entails having a deeper comprehension of the goals of commanders at all levels and improving communication with human counterparts.
The integration of commercial large language models is seen to deepen the military AI’s understanding of human behavior.
Predicting the Next Move on the Battlefield
In a fictitious experiment described in the paper, Ernie received intelligence from the military AI regarding a fictitious US military attack of Libya in 2011.
Following multiple conversations, Ernie was able to accurately identify the US military’s next course of action.
According to the research team, these predictive capacities could make up for human shortcomings by addressing problems like cognitive biases that could cause people to overestimate or underestimate dangers on the battlefield.
However, it is accepted that the information disclosed in the published article is only the tip of the iceberg.
The research team deliberately kept certain aspects of the project secret, including how military and commercial models could learn from past failures and mutually gain new knowledge and skills.
It is worth noting that China is not alone in exploring military applications of artificial intelligence .
 Various branches of the U.S. Similar technologies have attracted the interest of the military, which is investigating uses such as decrypting communications codes, controlling drones, and conducting psychological warfare.
As the global race for AI supremacy intensifies, cautionary voices from scientists underscore the need for responsible and ethical development and highlight the potential risks posed by unrestricted access to powerful AI systems, military networks, and classified information
