China may forbid the use of AI to lead armed forces, but that hasn’t stopped Chinese scientists from creating an AI military commander to take part in lab-driven war games. According to the South China Morning Post, the AI is based on human military leaders and mirrors not only their strengths and weaknesses but also their personality and thought patterns.
Reports say that virtual commanders are strictly confined to the lab, which is located at the Joint Operations College of the National Defence University in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province. So far, the command appears to have been granted an unprecedented amount of authority to command its forces as it participates in endlessly evolving virtual wars.
We’ve also seen companies start selling flame-throwing robot dogs. Image source: Throwflame
Further, research into the project shows that the AI military commander has been learning at an exponential rate. The paper is, unfortunately, only available in a Chinese-language journal called Common Control & Simulation. But, if the reports are to be believed, they show that using AI within the military is a very “viable” solution.
That’s likely not something that many AI doomers will want to hear. There is already plenty of talk about how AI will overtake humanity just because of how advanced ChatGPT may feel at times. If AI starts being used in military endeavors, then it will only enflame these concerns even more. This will be especially true as AI continues to gain the ability to make independent decisions.
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Of course, this AI military commander is not the first time China has dabbled with AI in the military. We’ve also seen the Chinese military experimenting with rifle-toting robot dogs, as well as attack drones with assault rifles attached to them. Elsewhere, companies have also been creating AI-powered butlers, and looking for other ways to push AI in our lives.