Beijing
In a remarkable advancement in military technology, China has reportedly developed an AI commander who is undergoing extensive training in Chinese laboratories, fighting virtual wars and operating without any intervention by humans. Dubbed as “virtual commander”, this AI officer is designed to act like humans as it gains virtual battleground experience. It is made to replicate human behaviour and even their flaws as it remains strictly confined to labs as of now.
Why China requires AI commanders?
It's highly unlikely that China will deploy these AI commanders to real war-like events in the near future; instead, their roles would be confined to war simulations only. They are required as the People's Liberation Army (PLA) faces a lack of experienced, senior commanders during war practices.
This is where AI commanders come in handy.
It is meant to operate when human commanders are unavailable in large-scale war simulations and exercises.
How AI commanders operate?
AI generally uses analysis to operate. But in this case, the AI will use its empirical knowledge. The AI commander has limited memory, much like humans, so that old, irrelevant data gets erased as new, relevant input or experience is gained.
The research project was first revealed in May in the Chinese-language journal Common Control & Simulation and is led by senior engineer Jia Chenxing.
“The virtual commander’s personality can be fine-tuned if deemed necessary,” said Jia's team.
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Under immense pressure, humans “struggle to formulate a fully rational decision-making framework under stringent timelines,” the engineers noted.
The AI itself identifies new threats, crafts plans and makes optimal decisions based on the overall situation when battles falter or results fall short. It also tends to learn and adapt from both victories and defeats.
All these happen without any human intervention, “boasting advantages including ease of implementation, high efficiency and support for repeated experimentation,” Jia’s team said.
Community party still supreme
The new AI is designed to uphold the long-held principle of the PLA- “The Party commands the gun.”
Even though AI technology gets more advanced with time, its remote control will also lie in the hands of humans affiliated with the Communist Party of China.
(With inputs from agencies)