Pentagon unveils AI strategy to boost US ‘decision advantage’ in China competition

AI-enabled decision-making could be key in deterring or winning a fight, according to Defence Department official Kathleen Hicks

Unveiling the new strategy, Hicks said the US is not seeking an AI arms race with ‘strategic competitor’ China

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US deputy defence secretary Kathleen Hicks unveiled the Pentagon’s latest AI strategy at a press conference on Thursday. Photo: AP

Published: 10:55am, 3 Nov 2023Updated: 2:44pm, 3 Nov 2023

The Pentagon’s latest data and artificial intelligence strategy announced on Thursday will advance “better and faster” battlefield decision-making amid Washington’s strategic competition with Beijing.

Deputy defence secretary Kathleen Hicks said the main reason to integrate AI into US military operations “responsibly and at speed” is “because it improves our decision advantage”.

“From the standpoint of deterring and defending against aggression, AI-enabled systems can help accelerate the speed of commanders’ decisions, and improve the quality and accuracy of those decisions – which can be decisive in deterring a fight, and in winning a fight,” she said.

Both the US and China have invested heavily to integrate AI into their militaries, against a backdrop of accusations by Washington that Beijing is behaving aggressively in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

The 26-page Data, Analytics and AI Adoption Strategy notes that the US needs to strengthen deterrence against China and other strategic competitors which “have widely communicated their intentions to field AI for military advantage”.

Hicks said the Pentagon would pursue the adoption of AI and “keep doing more, safely and swiftly, given the nature of strategic competition with the PRC [People’s Republic of China], our pacing challenge”, adding that the US does not seek an AI arms race with China.