February 12, 2018
Chinese Sub Commanders May Get AI Help for Decision-Making
What can we learn from a recent news report that China is seeking to develop a nuclear submarine with “AI-augmented brainpower” to give the PLA Navy an “upper hand in battle”?
A February 4 piece in the South China Morning Post quotes a “senior scientist involved with the programme” as saying there is a project underway to update the computer systems on PLANnuclear submarines with an AI decision-support system with “its own thoughts” that would reduce commanding officers’ workload and mental burden. The article describes plans for AI to take on “thinking” functions on nuclear subs, which could include, at a basic level, interpreting and answering signals picked up by sonar, through the use of convolutional neural networks.
Given the sensitivity of such a project, it is notable that a researcher working on the program is apparently discussing these issues with an English-language Hong Kong-based newspaper owned by Chinese tech giant Alibaba. That alone suggests that powers-that-be in Beijing intend such a story to receive attention. The release of this information should be considered critically – and might even be characterized as either a deliberate, perhaps ‘deterrent’ signal of China’s advances and/or ‘technological propaganda’ that hypes and overstates current research and development. Necessarily, any analysis based on such sourcing is difficult to confirm – and must thus be caveated heavily.
Read the full article in Defense One.
More from CNAS
-
Why the US, Japan and South Korea should take the quantum leap together
Commentary
Beyond boosting business and driving innovation, quantum may also power the next generation of defense technologies....
By Sam Howell
-
Domestic Politics Threaten Hard-Won Success in East Asia
Commentary
As momentous and historic as the Camp David agreements were, this trilateral grouping is innately and structurally fragile...
By Dr. Duyeon Kim
-
Why Aren’t the Presidential Candidates Debating China?
Commentary
Underestimating the China risk is a longstanding American strategic error....
By David Feith & Gabriel Scheinmann
-
The Key To Winning The Global AI Race
Commentary
It’s essential to ensure that AI is shared beyond the leading labs to other firms, schools and even the government itself....
By Jordan Schneider & Matthew Mittelsteadt
