Workers sit at computer terminals as they monitor a large display screen in the command center at the Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company on the outskirts of Beijing, Friday, May 25, 2018.

Workers sit at computer terminals as they monitor a large display screen in the command center at the Sinopec Yanshan Petrochemical Company on the outskirts of Beijing, Friday, May 25, 2018. AP / Mark Schiefelbein

China, Russia, and the US Are All Building Centers for Military AI

But their burgeoning approaches to state-sponsored research are divergent as the countries themselves.

Russia and the United States are moving closer to opening their own centers for military-related research into artificial intelligence, as China did in the spring of last year. But the three governments have differing approaches. The U.S. Joint Artificial Intelligence Center aims to apply lessons from an Air Force pilot project to other military services, while the Chinese approach fuses civilian and military research and Russia’s efforts are closely directed from the Kremlin.

Russia

“What’s interesting is the extent to which the Russian government and especially the Ministry of Defense is marshaling resources for the development of AI for its military,” said Sam Bendett, an associate research analyst at CNA and a fellow in Russia studies at the American Foreign Policy Council.

The new innovation technopolis, dubbed Era and slated to open in September with a bare-bones research staff, is planned to grow to a 50-acre city by 2020. “Already, there are dozens of soldiers from military companies getting sent there, along with the initial private-sector staff,” Bendett said. “Era military staff are already involved in various scientific and technical activities, such as the recently launched de-mining robotics competition at the Alabino testing ground near Moscow.”

“No doubt that Pentagon’s announcement on establishing JAIC will be met with a certain degree of apprehension by the Russians, who are concerned about significant financial resources poured into AI development by the American private sector. Currently, Russian AI funding is only a small fraction of what is spent in the U.S. — or China, for that matter.”

Among the park’s first missions: exploring applications of blockchain for Russian cybersecurity.

U.S.

The U.S. Defense Department effort will be different. Rather than an open exploration of new technologies, the effort will seek to replicate the Department’s success with Project Maven, its fledgling AI program for object recognition. But it will look across different services and missions. If you’re a commander and you have a problem that AI could help solve — be it logistics, open-source data analysis, probability distributions — then someone from the center will want to pitch you on an AI fix for your problem.

A June 27 memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan calls for a set of National Mission Initiatives, or “large-scale efforts to apply AI to a cluster of closely related, urgent, joint challenges” to “be developed in partnership with the Military Departments and Services, Joint Staff...and other DOD components and mission owners.”

The memo also designates CIO Dana Deasy to head up the new JAIC.

The announcement is very much in-line with what sources told Defense One the JAIC would focus on back in April, just after the announcement of the new center.

“There’s an element [of the Defense Department] that’s asking, ‘How do we make a Project Maven factory?’” one source said then.

China

Both the Russian and the U.S. efforts to stand up an AI innovation center are behind China.

The Chinese government has said it wants to dominate a global innovation in AI by 2030. And China, too, has an AI institute of sorts spread across multiple laboratories. The People’s Liberation Army regularly recruits top AI researchers; some officers are also researchers, such as Maj. Gen.  Li Deyi, who leads the China Association for Artificial Intelligence.

“The PLA Academy of Military Science has established a new research center for artificial intelligence, and the PLA National National University of Defense Technology has created a new institute for intelligent sciences,” said Elsa Kania, an adjunct fellow with the Technology and National Security program at Center for New American Security. “Tsinghua University, China's MIT, has established a 'high-end' laboratory for military intelligence.”

Kania noted that the University’s mission is aligned with the Chinese government’s goal of fusing civilian and military technological development.

“In China, leading companies and universities, such as Baidu and Tsinghua, appear to be engaged in military-relevant research and development. The PLA itself has also established a number of new AI research centers at some of its premier institutions, including at the Academy of Military Science and National University of Defense Technology.’” she said.

The three distinct approaches to the development of artificial intelligence reflect, in a way, the character of the society from which they emerge. That they are accelerating at the same is a sign of the sense of urgency, optimism and dread of being left behind that governments are feeling around artificial intelligence.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.