Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to affect ever more aspects of military and civilian life as part of the fourth industrial revolution. Countries are racing for global AI dominance, and whoever'wins' shall reap the economic and geopolitical power expected to result. However, AI-enhanced technologies could pose new security risks that have not been encountered before. Ultimately, this paper argues that the UK and the EU should approach outsourcing critical communications infrastructure with caution and take recent security concerns involving China more seriously. The UK Project on Nuclear Issues 2020 papers can be found here and recording can be viewed here.

China and the United States are leading the way in the quest to dominate the world of artificial intelligence, a study by the United Nations has found. It found US tech giants IBM and Microsoft had the largest AI portfolios, with 8,920 and 5,930 different patents, respectively. China however, accounted for 17 of the top 20 academic institutions involved in patenting AI and was particularly strong in the fast growing area of'deep learning'. This process was recently used to create a'self-aware' robot that is capable of imagining itself. Other machines have complex speech recognition systems.

Panelists discuss the global race for leadership in artificial intelligence, and provide an analysis of major AI legislation and initiatives in China, the European Union, and the United States.

But more and more innovation is now coming from other regions, and there are reasons to believe the AI revolution might first take off elsewhere. Due to its size, capital, and cultural landscape, China, in particular, seems poised to lead AI evolution. China's economic growth since the 1980s has been staggering, and government investment has been key toward creating new technologies in the country. In July of 2017, the Chinese government resolved to make the nation the world's leader in AI by 2030. Although any government can make similarly bold claims, China's track record in recent years has been remarkable, with the nation now home to some of the world's most extensive and modern infrastructure.

China has set an ambitious target of becoming the leader in this field by 2030 and transform AI work into an industry worth $150 billion. Beijing already recognizes that will take work. By 2020 the central government says the country will need to develop new AI theories and technologies in a fast-changing field, according to the Chinese State Council. By 2025, China's industries should be transformed by breakthroughs in AI, while the following five years will seal the country's status as a world leader in the technology.