FOUR BATTLEGROUNDS

An intriguing study of how artificial intelligence is the new frontier for the rivalry between the U.S. and China.

AI is reaching into every part of our lives, but one of its most widespread applications is largely unseen to ordinary American citizens. The U.S. military is incorporating AI into nearly every aspect of their operations, from piloting jet fighters to optimizing logistical support. At the same time, other countries, especially China, are advancing their own systems. In fact, China has made no secret of its intention to become the leading player in AI by 2030. Scharre, a former Army Ranger and vice president and director of studies for the Center for a New American Security, understands the realities of war as well as the tech side, so he is well positioned to examine this field. He has already covered some of this ground in his significant 2018 book, Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War. The author identifies four crucial areas: data collection, computing hardware, talent, and institutions. Currently, the U.S. holds the lead, but it is steadily deteriorating. Scharre delves deeply into each area, noting that fundamental differences between authoritarian China and democratic U.S. China’s government-driven model provides unity of purpose and unlimited funding but restricts innovation. The American system is disaggregated and somewhat chaotic, but it attracts the best talent and is capable of radical breakthroughs. Scharre also examines how AI might change the nature of future conflicts, which may feature swarms of drones and supersmart targeting. A weakness of AI systems is that they do not respond well to changes of conditions, but this is gradually being overcome with new-generation machine learning. It is difficult to know whether to feel confident or disturbed by all this information, but Scharre effectively shows where military AI currently stands and where it is going.

A solid, well-organized account of the military applications of AI and of the race to take the lead global position.