PLA Lab Hosts World’s First AI Commander Created by Chinese Scientists

In Short

• AI Commander for PLA: Chinese scientists have created an AI tactical commander for the PLA, capable of large-scale virtual warfare simulation.
• Human Simulation: The AI mimics the thoughts, character, and decision-making processes of human commanders, aiding in strategic exercises.
• Global AI Arms Race: This development highlights the competition between global powers like China and the US in integrating AI into military operations, with ongoing discussions to prevent the weaponization of AI.

Self-educated Chinese scientists have designed an AI tactical commander capable of orchestrating large-scale virtual warfare for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Unveiled during an academic conference in May, this AI replicates a human commander’s thought processes and strategies, enhancing the PLA’s capability to conduct extensive simulations without direct human intervention.

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“The current joint operations simulation system suffers from poor simulation experiment results due to the lack of command entities at the joint battle level,” the researchers said.

The AI commander can either be a proxy for the human commanders who cannot join in a big-scale virtual war or exercise command during their absence. This power within the laboratory is capable of being exercised without any hindrance from any human being. AI not only greatly assists the PLA in achieving a large number of “human-out-of-the-loop” operational exercises but also highlights new threats, strategies, and decisions that need to be made by the commander when combat becomes stagnant or initiates a downturn in effectiveness. It also grows from success and failure experiences alike.

Every senior PLA commander attacks in different ways, or at least this parameter is adjustable if required to change the AI commander’s personality. However, due to pressure, humans find it difficult to come up with adequate rationality frameworks within a fixed time. Instead of using pure analysis as a means of arriving at the best answer to a problem, the AI commander uses empirical knowledge for making combat decisions; looks for satisfactory solutions, recalls similar cases from his data bank, and quickly arrives at a viable plan. They are also forgetful, so the scientists have limited the amount and breadth of knowledge that the AI commander can possess.

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“The highest-level commander is the sole core decision-making entity for the overall operation, with ultimate decision-making responsibilities and authority,” Jia and his colleagues wrote.

Many countries around the globe are already in competition as to which nations can utilize AI in their armed forces, primarily China and the United States. In this significant domain, both Beijing and Washington fear not being overtaken, but at the same time, they have concerns over the consequences of artificial intelligence’s expansion for individuals. Chinese, American, and Russian top executives have been in discussions to formulate a set of rules intending to prevent the weaponization of artificial intelligence, with a ban on AI having control over nuclear weaponry.

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