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China Surpasses US in AI Military Spending

Alexandr Wang, the founder and CEO of Scale AI, says that the world is entering a “new era of warfare” defined by AI, much like the Cold War was defined by the atomic bomb. The race to develop new military AI capabilities could have profound implications for global development, with the country that can rapidly and effectively integrate AI into warfighting gaining a significant advantage

China has surpassed the United States in military artificial intelligence (AI) spending, according to a testimony received by the US Congress. While the overall AI spending by the United States is higher than that of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the focus on battlefield applications of AI is notably greater in China’s investments, according to Alexandr Wang, the founder and CEO of Scale AI, a software development company.

During a hearing of the House Armed Services Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation Subcommittee on July 18, Wang pointed out that the Chinese military is allocating a much higher percentage of its total expenditures towards AI, approximately 10 times more than the United States. He mentioned that the Chinese military invests between 1 to 2 per cent of its overall budget into AI, while the Department of Defence (DoD) of the United States allocates only 0.1 to 0.2 per cent of its budget for AI.

Even though the US defence budget in fiscal 2022 was around $752 billion, significantly higher than the CCP’s $230 billion, Wang’s estimates suggest that China is spending between $2.2 and $4.4 billion on military AI, compared to the US military’s investment of approximately $874 million.

Wang emphasized that the world is entering a “new era of warfare” defined by AI, much like the Cold War was defined by the atomic bomb. The race to develop new military AI capabilities could have profound implications for global development, with the country that can rapidly and effectively integrate AI into warfighting gaining a significant advantage. He warned that if the United States doesn’t lead in AI, it risks conceding global influence, technological leadership, and democracy to strategic adversaries like China.

Haniyeh Mahmoudian, a global AI ethicist for tech company Data Robot, also testified that AI’s advancements would dramatically change the nature of military conflicts among great powers. She emphasized that the United States needs to not only invest in AI’s advancement but also establish regulatory frameworks to guide its development while ensuring ethical considerations, effectiveness, reliability, and human oversight.

The Subcommittee held its hearing at a time when both the United States and China are heavily investing in various new military technologies, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence (AI).

While many Americans might not fully grasp it, China has been pursuing AI-driven weapons and military platforms for years. Their interests in AI extend beyond just killer robots; they are also investing in AI capabilities for military decision-making and command and control. China’s ultimate aim is “intelligentization,” a transformation of warfare achieved through the widespread integration of AI, automation, and big data.

Chinese companies like 4Paradigm are key players in this endeavour, having been contracted by the CCP’s military wing to develop AI decision-making models and human-machine teaming software for deployment at the company and battalion levels. These programs suggest a clear direction – the restructuring of the Chinese military into a centralized group of officers who oversee AI-enabled autonomous systems engaging in combat.

Similarly, the United States envisions a future where wars are won with the assistance of robots. Gen. Mark Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, believes that the world’s most powerful armies will predominantly consist of robotic forces within the next decade, and he intends for the United States to achieve that objective. As part of this vision, the Pentagon is experimenting with various unmanned aerial, ground, and undersea vehicles, while also exploring the potential of nonmilitary smart technologies like watches and fitness trackers.

Though still in the early stages, Gen. Milley has been stating since 2016 that the US military plans to have significant robotic ground forces and AI capabilities in place by 2030.

US Takes Down Unidentified Aerial ‘Object’ in Alaska

The US military was quicker to down flying ‘object’ than Chinese balloon, reports Yashwant Raj

Unidentified Flying Object over Alaska brings US military into quick action. A US fighter jet shot down an “object” flying over Alaska on Friday, in a new — but much swifter — repeat of the downing of a Chinese spy balloon last week that threw ties between the two countries into a new crisis.

The object — that’s what the US is calling it at this early stage of investigation — was described by Defence officials as as large as a car — in contrast to the Chinese balloon which was the size of three passenger buses. But the officials acknowledged they had few other details — nothing about its ownership, origin or purpose.

“I can confirm that the Department of Defence was tracking a high-altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours. The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight,” John Kirby, spokesperson of the US National Security Council said in a White House briefing.

He added: “Out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of the Pentagon, President Biden ordered the military to down the object. And they did, and it came inside our territorial waters. Those waters right now are frozen — but inside territorial airspace and over territorial waters.”

Pressed for more details, Kirby said, “We’re calling this an ‘object’, because that’s the best description we have right now. We do not know who owns it, whether it’s a — whether it’s state owned or — or corporate owned, or privately owned. We just don’t know.”

The US department of Defence gave some more details at a separate briefing: the object was first noted on Thursday by the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). It was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and “posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight”.

An F-22 fighter jet that took off from an airbase in Alaska brought down the object with an IM-9X missile.

But this flying object was not apparently carrying any surveillance equipment — compared to the massive payload the size of three passenger buses of the spy balloon — and did not have the ability to manoeuvre itself.

The Chinese spy balloon had entered the US also through Alaska and was allowed to drift across the breadth of the American landmass till it was safely out of water because it was shot down because the US military feared danger to civilian population down below from falling debris.

Republican Senators grilled Defence officials at a hearing on Thursday for, one, allowing the spy balloon to enter Alaska and, two, letting it fly across the state and into the American mainland.

“As an Alaskan, I am so angry, I want to use other words, but I’m not going to,” Lisa Murkowski, a Republican Senator from Alaska, to Defence officials.

The US Navy has released photos of debris of the suspected Chinese spy balloon which was shot down by an American F-22 fighter jet over the Atlantic Ocean on February 4.

“It’s like this administration doesn’t think that Alaska is any part of the rest of the country here … To get to the US, you’ve got to come through Alaska.”

The detection and downing of the balloon ushered new tensions between the US and China just as they had seemed on the verge of better understanding and engagement — compared to the Trump’ years — building on the first in-person summit between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his visit to Beijing just hours before take off and Biden celebrated the shooting down of the balloon with a taunt directed at the Chinese President in his State of the Union speech, saying he had left Xi in an unenviable place, which no other world leader would want.

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