Expert: West declared new global arms race, it’s chip battle

Semiconductors based on artificial intelligence are expected to give a strategic advantage in the economy and in the military sphere to the world's leading countries. Meanwhile, Western countries intend to invest over $380 billion in electronic confrontation with strategic competitors in the near future, and it will be a battle of chips. This tendency has intensified the rivalry between Washington and Beijing for advanced technologies that determine the future of the global economy: unlimited production of material goods at the expense of intelligent robots. The ultra-low cost of all such goods will eventually reverse the structure of world prices and change the picture of global economic leadership. Significant changes will also take place in the military sphere once new types of intelligent weapons become available. In his talk with sb.by, military expert Igor Chibisov commented on the developing situation.

“Against the background of military operations around the globe, the world's leading armies have been paying special attention to the development of artificial intelligence systems recently, and the year 2024 is no exception. AI is becoming one of the most important technologies used to enhance the potential of the armed forces, and it is already being developed and applied in all military fields. In the future, the forms and methods of using the armed forces will depend even more on scientific and technical equipment and on the latest command and control systems for troops and weapons. However, there is a danger that AI will be put at the service when making strategic military decisions, and such technologies may exacerbate emerging problems of global stability in the coming years – even if assuming that the pace of introduction of artificial intelligence will be quite moderate. That is why nuclear powers exclude full confidence in artificial intelligence systems in the use of nuclear weapons,” the expert said.

Mr. Chibisov named the areas of practical military use of AI: these are electronic warfare; various intelligence tasks; military logistics, training facilities and innovative simulators; intelligent ammunition capable of independently designing a trajectory and exploding at the optimal time; sights and visual information display devices; biometric identification of personnel in order to determine access rights; determination of the condition of military personnel during the health recovery; prediction of weather factors affecting the planning of operations; concealment of the facts of the use of special weapons — laser, cyber or weapons of mass destruction; and much more.

“The artificial intelligence system is a key element for performing the most complex military information, psychological and cybernetic operations. At the same time, any issue of replacing a person with AI in the military field should be as acute as possible and resolved very carefully,” he added.