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
-
North Korea Hardens Posture as Allies Recalibrate Before APEC
With President Trump set to attend the APEC summit in Gyeongju, questions are resurfacing about a possible return to U.S.–North Korea diplomacy. No working-level talks are und...
By Dr. Go Myong-Hyun
-
Technology & National Security
NOTUS Perspectives: AI Requires Massive Allocations of Energy. Will Other Sectors Suffer?On the current trajectory, the government may need to prioritize energy for AI over other uses to ensure the United States remains the global leader in advanced AI....
By Janet Egan
-
Sharper: India and the Quad
Despite recent bilateral challenges, India’s relationship with the United States and its leadership within the Quad remains indispensable for an Indo-Pacific that is cooperati...
By Keerthi Martyn & Charles Horn
-
Technology & National Security
Countering the Digital Silk RoadThe year 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the Digital Silk Road (DSR), China’s effort to strengthen its global ties and influence through technology. In the decade since the...
By Vivek Chilukuri & Ruby Scanlon