{"id":17889,"date":"2018-04-23T12:31:39","date_gmt":"2018-04-23T10:31:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redanalysis.org\/?p=17889"},"modified":"2021-10-08T12:17:28","modified_gmt":"2021-10-08T10:17:28","slug":"militarisation-intelligence-artificielle-chine-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redanalysis.org\/fr\/2018\/04\/23\/militarizing-artificial-intelligence-china-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Militarisation de l'intelligence artificielle - Chine (1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 7 March 7 2017, Lieutenant General Liu Guozhi of the Science and Technology Commission of the Central Military Commission stated that \u201cArtificial intelligence \u2026 will bring about fundamental changes, and even lead to a profound military revolution.\u201d (Wang Liang et al., “NPC deputy Liu Guozhi: Artificial intelligence will accelerate the process of military transformation<\/a>“,\u00a0CNR Military<\/em>, 7 March 2017). This statement foresaw China’s massive national effort to become the world leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI), launched in July 2017 with the \u201cNew Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan<\/a>\u201d (\u65b0\u4e00\u4ee3\u4eba\u5de5\u667a\u80fd\u53d1\u5c55\u89c4\u5212) and its 150 billion dollars investment plan (Sarah Hsu, \u201cChina is investing heavily into Artificial intelligence, and could soon catch up with US<\/a>\u201d,\u00a0Forbes<\/em>, July 3, 2017). Meanwhile, always in 2017, the Chinese National Engineering Laboratory for Deep Learning Technology was officially established (Meng Jing, \u201cChina\u2019s first \u2018deep learning lab\u2019 intensifies challenge to US in artificial intelligence race\u00a0<\/a>\u00bb, South China Morning Post,<\/em> 21 February 2017).<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 Sputnik \/ Sergey Pivovarov – “Just in Time for Christmas: Three Chinese Battle Robots Unveiled in Beijing” – 08.12.2015 – Click to access article<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the meantime, Chinese companies also develop AI-powered robotics on an industrial scale. In other terms, China integrates the development of AI, and, in the same dynamic develops what H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Lavoix defines as its \u201cAI-power\u201d and its \u201cAI-governance\u201d (H\u00e9l\u00e8ne Lavoix \u201cArtificial intelligence- forces, drivers and stakes<\/a>\u201d and \u201cWhen Artificial Intelligence will Power Geopolitics \u2013 Presenting AI<\/a>\u201d and in \u201cArtificial Intelligence and Deep Learning \u2013 The New AI-World in the Making<\/a>\u201d, The Red (Team) Analysis Society<\/em>, March 26, 2018).<\/p>\n

It is against that background that the Chinese militarization of AI takes place: the Chinese military develops rapidly the integration of AI to its air, maritime, land, cyber, and space force projection capabilities. This process is managed through a very close military-civil relationship established between the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) and civil research-development laboratories and industrial companies (Elsa B. Kania in \u201cThe PLA\u2019s trajectory from informatized to \u201cintelligentized\u201d warfare<\/span><\/a>\u201d, The Bridge<\/i>, June 8, 2017)<\/span>. This militarization of AI leads us to wonder about the consequences of this process, not only in operational terms, but also in terms of strategy and of grand strategy, i.e the level where political, economic and strategic interests intersect.<\/p>\n

In the first article of this series, we are going to focus on the way the PLA works at integrating AI to weapons systems. Then, we shall see how this process is integrated into the civil development of AI and robotics through a process of \u201cmilitary-civil fusion\u201d. Then we shall wonder about the strategic meaning of this AI development of the Chinese military.<\/p>\n

AI and Chinese weapons systems<\/h1>\n

The Science and Technology Commission of the Chinese Central Military Commission is leading the research and development effort of the PLA in the unmanned systems field, and especially in \u201cintelligent unmanned systems and systems of systems\u201d (Aleksandra Urman, \u201cSmart killer robots: China\u2019s military future could rest on artificial intelligence<\/a>\u201d, The Defense post<\/em>, January 2, 2018). As emphasized by Elsa B. Kania, the Chinese development of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence is closely linked to the civil research and developments and applications of AI (\u201cTestimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission: Chinese Advances in Unmanned Systems and the Military Applications of Artificial Intelligence\u2014the PLA\u2019s Trajectory towards Unmanned, \u201cIntelligentized\u201d Warfare<\/a>\u201d, T<\/em>he Long Term Strategy Group, <\/em>February 23, 2017).<\/p>\n

For example, in 2016, the China Electronics Technology Group Corporation succeeded in operating a swarm of seventy small-unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These UAVs were operated autonomously. In 2017, the same company claimed it had succeeded in launching an intelligent drone swarm, directed by autonomous ground control and ad hoc networks (however, the company didn\u2019t release information about the date and place of this test, see Jon Walker, \u201cUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAV\u2019s) \u2013 Comparing the USA, Israel and China<\/a>\u201d, Techemergence<\/em>, September 1, 2017).<\/p>\n

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The same dynamic applies to the research-development of \u201cintelligentized missiles\u201d. For example, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CISCA) works on the development of future cruise missiles with a very high level of automation and AI integration (Zhao Lei, \u201cNation\u2019s next generation of missiles to be highly flexible<\/a>\u201d, China Daily<\/em>, 2016-08-19). Command and control could even be exercised in real-time while the tasks and targets of the missiles could be changed while flying. Wang Changqing, Director of the General Design Department of the Third Academy of CISCA emphasizes that<\/p>\n

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\u201cArtificial intelligence could enable missiles to have advanced capabilities in sensing, decision-making, and execution of missions, including through gaining a degree of \u201ccognition\u201d and the ability to learn\u2026 Moreover, our future cruise missiles will have a very high level of artificial intelligence and automation\u201d\u00a0 (Zhao Lei, ibid).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The PLA is also developing and testing other kinds of unmanned vehicles for the army, and the navy, such as reconnaissance drones and unmanned submarine (Stephen Chen, \u201cChina\u2019s plan to use artificial intelligence to boost the thinking skills of nuclear submarine commanders<\/a>“, South China Morning Post<\/em>, 04 February 2018).<\/p>\n