The U.S. military and China's People's Liberation Army are both pursuing artificial intelligence capabilities which could give them a leg up in future conflicts. PLA investment in AI is now on par with the Pentagon's, experts say. "Supported by a burgeoning AI defense industry, the Chinese military has made extraordinary progress in procuring AI systems for combat and support functions," according to a recent report from the Georgetown University Center for Security and Emerging Technology. The People's Liberation Army is most focused on procuring AI for intelligence analysis, predictive maintenance, information warfare, and navigation and target recognition in autonomous vehicles, said the study, "Harnessed Lightning: How the Chinese Military is Adopting Artificial Intelligence," by analysts Ryan Fedasiuk, Jennifer Melot and Ben Murphy. Additionally, laboratories affiliated with the Chinese military are actively pursuing AI-based target recognition and fire-control research, which may be used in lethal autonomous weapon systems, according to the authors.