Chinese scientists create and cage world’s first AI commander in a PLA laboratory

Scientists have created the AI commander based on human military leaders, mirroring both their strengths and their weaknesses

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In a world first, China has created an AI military commander which leads virtual war simulations. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:00pm, 16 Jun 2024

In China, where it is forbidden for artificial intelligence to lead the armed forces, scientists have created an AI commander.

This “virtual commander”, strictly confined to a laboratory at the Joint Operations College of the National Defence University in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, mirrors the human commander in all ways, from experience to thought patterns to personality – and even their flaws.

In large-scale computer war games involving all branches of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the AI commander has been granted unprecedented supreme command authority, learning and growing fast in the endlessly evolving virtual wars.

This groundbreaking research project was publicly revealed in May in a peer-reviewed paper published in the Chinese-language journal Common Control & Simulation. The team, led by senior engineer Jia Chenxing, said AI technology held both potential and risk in military applications, yet this project offered a “viable” solution to the growing conundrum.

In China, the military must strictly abide by this principle: “The Party commands the gun.” Only the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of China has the authority to mobilise the PLA.

As AI technology gains the ability to make independent decisions, forward-deployed units including drones and robotic dogs are granted more freedom of movement and the power to fire. But command authority back at headquarters remains firmly in human hands.