Expert: US views AI as ‘watershed concept’ to ensure military superiority
China has published new principles for phasing out American processors and chips in government computer systems, and Intel and AMD chips are mostly banned. Back in 2022, President Joe Biden signed the so-called chip law, which envisaged the allocation of $53bn+ for the production of semiconductors and chips in the United States. As a result, private American companies have got the right to ask for subsidies to produce chips, and the country’s competitiveness against the products of the Chinese semiconductor industry is likely to increase. According to the Boston Consulting Group forecast, the volume of semiconductor production in the United States will triple by 2032, and the country’s share in the global microprocessor market will increase from 10 to 14 percent. In turn, the US Department of Commerce revoked licenses allowing the Chinese company Huawei to import semiconductors from American Qualcomm and Intel. That was done, as explained by the United States, to prevent China from developing advanced artificial intelligence. In fact, this move blocks the sale of any chips. In his talk with sb.by, military expert Igor Chibisov commented on the development of AI-based technologies in the United States.
“The United States has launched large-scale work on the introduction of an artificial intelligence system in the management of the armed forces and the creation of smart systems. The Pentagon's goal is to create an interconnected system of local warfare. They [Americans] consider artificial intelligence to be a ‘watershed concept’ to ensure undeniable power superiority, so they allocate huge amounts of money from the military budget for these purposes,” the expert noted.
Mr. Chibisov recalled that, in 2012, the United States adopted a special strategy for the deployment of artificial intelligence in the armed forces. A joint AI centre was set up, and the position of chief co-ordinator for digital technologies and artificial intelligence was established at the Pentagon.
“The US military department assumes that all weapons, vehicles, and army personnel should be included into a single digital network, and AI will process the data, assess the situation and set combat tasks. All the tools will be integrated into the so-called joint operational command. Americans want to create a unified network through the integration of artificial intelligence and related technologies, to gain an operational advantage on the rapidly accelerating battlefields of the future – so almost all leading high-tech companies in the US are working now to achieve this goal of military superiority. The Pentagon has spread its networks widely, it is practically involved in all software developments that can be somehow used for military purposes, including the use of artificial intelligence in the armed forces,” the expert added.
According to Mr. Chibisov, Americans are implementing AI technologies to centralise the planning of operations in the air, in space, in cyberspace, at sea and on land. “A new weapon capable of independently choosing a target and engaging in battle with it or simply destroying a particular person poses a monstrous threat not only to people, but also to countries in the world. As a result, this will finally undermine and distort the moral foundations of humanity. We already know from the experience of the US military operations in Afghanistan, Syria, and now in Israel, how artificial intelligence makes mistakes and bombs everyone – including civilians and terrorists. The use of AI technologies for military purposes causes ambivalent feelings. Artificial intelligence can both facilitate the task of combating external and internal threats, and bring irreparable harm to millions of people. No matter how strictly artificial intelligence is adapted for military purposes, specific people still bear the responsibility,” he noted.
