Pentagon alarmed by Chinese rush for 'intelligentized' warfare, but experts warn about over-reliance on AI

The U.S. Department of Defense has warned that China's artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives have seen heavy integration with the People's Liberation Army (PLA), raising concerns of a possible AI arms race. "The size, scope and sophistication of Chinese military modernization programs is breathtaking," James Anderson, who served as the deputy undersecretary of defense during the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital. "The report makes clear that Beijing remains hellbent on developing a world-class military force, despite its recent economic slowdown." The annual Pentagon report on the Military and Security Developments involving the People's Republic of China argues in the preface that China remains "the" pacing challenge for the Department of Defense as Beijing seeks "national rejuvenation" by 2049 – the centenary anniversary for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Chief among the various avenues the party has pursued to achieve this goal stands the "multi-domain precision warfare" concept, which seeks to incorporate advances in big data and AI to "rapidly identify key vulnerabilities in the U.S. operational system and then combine joint forces across domains to launch precision strikes," according to the report. The concept would help China develop "additional subordinate operational concepts" with an eye toward refining China's capabilities to fight and win "future wars."