The 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a heavy focus on the continued development of artificial intelligence for the military, an investment that could be pivotal in the continued competition with China. "I think there are two key areas of the NDAA that point to a great strategic direction for the United States. The first is recognizing the threat China poses in both the physical and the cognitive domain of conflict, in the cold war we are currently in with them and the hot war they may consider in the future. AI, and protecting AI is a crucial part of that strategic calculus," Christopher Alexander, the chief analytics officer of Pioneer Development Group, told Fox News Digital. Alexander's comments come after President Biden signed the Pentagon spending bill into law last month, the yearly "must pass" legislation that lays out U.S. military spending.