More and more large militaries around the world are developing methods to fight wars remotely, from using drones to cyberattacks. In Ukraine, unmanned aerial vehicles have been crucial to Kyiv's war effort, and the latest reports from the United States' Department of Defense have recently unveiled a new $1 billion investment to upgrade its drone fleet.
Major military powers have taken this development a step forward by researching fully autonomous, artificial intelligence-powered "killer robots" that may one day replace soldiers on the battlefield.
According to defense analyst Francis Tusa, China is one of these powers heavily investing in AI, with PLA reports turning up "new ship designs, new submarine designs, new fighter aircraft designs, at a rate which is dizzying."
"They are moving four or five times faster than the States. We're at the start of a race for truly autonomous systems. I would be surprised if we don't see autonomous machines coming out of China in two years," Tusa warned, adding that being ahead of the West in terms of military technology is the goal of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
"For the Chinese, it's the issue of 'Have we beaten the Americans and the U.K. in getting a fully autonomous fighter aircraft?' There's huge prestige. I think they'll go all out on autonomy and harnessing AI, and I think Russia will follow suit," Tusa added.
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China and Russia collaborating on developing AI-powered autonomous weaponry
China is also reportedly collaborating heavily with Russia to develop new and improve upon existing AI-powered autonomous weapons systems.
During a military exercise in with the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, the PLA displayed a robot dog with a firearm mounted on its back developed by Chinese corporation Unitree Robotics.
According to a video shared by state broadcaster CCTV, the remote-controlled and battery-operated robodogs can operate independently for between two and four hours and are capable of moving forward and backward, lying down and jumping.
The video stated they can also plan routes, approach targets and avoid obstacles. One of the robots shown in the video was equipped with a rifle to shoot targets.
A Chinese soldier told CCTV that the robot dogs will "serve as a new member in urban combat operations" and can replace the role of human soldiers in recognizing and attacking targets.
At a defense fair in Moscow, Russia showed a revised version of the Unitree Robotics robodog, remodeled as the M81 robot dog and armed with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher rather than a machine gun.
"Unfortunately, China seems to be pressing ahead rapidly toward acquisition of killer robots, as are other major military powers," said Steve Goose, the arms campaigns director for Human Rights Watch, which has begun a "Stop Killer Robots" campaign in support of international legal frameworks for restricting the use of autonomous weapons systems. "China's rhetoric at diplomatic meetings on killer robots – where it has called for restraints on autonomous weapons – has not been reflected in its actions."
China has already started using AI-powered machines to make weapons, which some have said could triple its production of bombs and shells by 2028. (Related: Killer robots must be outlawed immediately, warns UN official.)
Follow MilitaryTechnology.news for more stories about killer robots being used by the military.
Watch the video below about a Chinese PLA soldier taking his armed robot dog for a walk.
This video is from the channel Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth on Brighteon.com.
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