Now Is the Time to Think About How Artificial Intelligence Will Change War

The same technology that helped a computer beat a human in the ancient Chinese strategic game Go could dramatically change the way wars are fought, a report suggests. Artificially intelligent systems today can competently identify images and rapidly carry out repetitive virtual tasks. The technology is far from consciousness or replacing human warfighters but even in its current state, it will force the U.S. military to reassess its major strategies, analysts argue. As adversaries, namely China, invest in AI applications, the Defense Department should preempt any AI-driven attacks by conducting AI-themed war games, and by investing more in its own use of the technology, according to a report written on behalf of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, the intelligence community's research and development unit. Harvard's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs published the study.