China’s military kicks off debate on use of ChatGPT with article in official PLA newspaper

The analysis looking at how the armed forces could use the AI software highlights its potential for information gathering and cognitive warfare

The article also looks at AI’s general weaknesses, saying human innovation could provide a key edge over the technology

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The PLA Daily article was the Chinese military’s first public discussion about the AI software. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:00am, 14 Apr 2023Updated: 12:10pm, 14 Apr 2023

The Chinese military might be able to use ChatGPT to improve its effectiveness, according to an article in the official People’s Liberation Army newspaper.

The analysis in PLA Daily is the first time the country’s armed forces have publicly discussed the use of the artificial intelligence technology developed by the American company OpenAI.

As the ChatGPT wave sweeps the world, major internet technology companies have been announcing their own versions.

“Compared with previous AI models, ChatGPT is more human-like and has many potential applications in the military field,” Mao Weihao, a lecturer with the Army Command College in Nanjing, wrote in the article published on the newspaper’s website on Thursday.

He said the software could be used as a battlefield intelligence system and to plan cognitive warfare.

During peacetime, ChatGPT could be used to gather intelligence by helping to analyse vast amounts of data from the internet, improving efficiency and finding valuable information, he argued. In wartime, it could generate comprehensive battlefield reports, making planning more efficient.