AI has revolutionized the battlefield in 2023 as Israel and China lead the development amid an ongoing tech arms race. The Pentagon has around 800 AI-related unclassified projects in progress, seeking to integrate AI as a “force multiplier” and gain an advantage over rivals. The development of AI in the military has led to advancements such as autonomous targeting, virtual weapons testing, and drone swarm control. Israel’s Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unveiled an AI-powered tank called Barak that offers a 360-degree view of the battlefield and can seamlessly communicate with nearby tanks. Germany developed a virtual reality weapons-testing environment that allows faster and wider testing of weapons, while the AUKUS alliance conducted a military drill that included deploying an AI-controlled swarm of drones. China’s AI development aims to achieve “intelligentized warfare” and lead in AI by 2030. The Pentagon admits that China is currently the world leader in facial recognition and natural language processing technology. Overall, AI technologies are expected to increase the speed and lethality of military platforms and play a key role in any major U.S.-China military confrontation.
