Artificial intelligence and the future of warfare : the USA, China, and strategic stability

__Artificial intelligence and the future of warfare__ sketches a clear and sobering picture of the potential impact of __artificial intelligence (__AI) on the digitized battlefield, broadening our understanding of critical questions facing decisions-makers today. This volume offers an innovative and counter-intuitive study of how and why artificial intelligence-infused weapon systems will affect the strategic stability between nuclear-armed states. Johnson demystifies the hype surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of nuclear weapons and, more broadly, future warfare. The book highlights the potential, multifaceted intersections of this and other disruptive technology - robotics and autonomy, cyber, drone swarming, big data analytics, and quantum communications - with nuclear stability. Anticipating and preparing for the consequences of the AI-empowered weapon systems are fast becoming a critical task for national security and statecraft. Johnson considers the impact of these trends on deterrence, military escalation, and strategic stability between nuclear-armed states - especially China and the United States. The book draws on a wealth of political and cognitive science, strategic studies, and technical analysis to shed light on the coalescence of developments in AI and other disruptive emerging technologies. Artificial intelligence and the future of warfare sketches a clear picture of the potential impact of AI on the digitized battlefield and broadens our understanding of critical questions for international affairs. AI will profoundly change how wars are fought, and how decision-makers think about nuclear deterrence, escalation management, and strategic stability - but not for the reasons you might think Front Matter 1 Contents 6 List of figures 7 Acknowledgments 8 List of abbreviations 10 Introduction: opening the AI Pandora’s box 12 Part I: Destabilizing the AI renaissance 26 Military AI primer 28 AI in the second nuclear age 52 Part II: Military AI superpowers 68 New challenges to military-techno Pax Americana 70 US–China crisis stability under the AI nuclear shadow 96 Part III: Nuclear instability redux? 120 Hunting for nuclear weapons in the digital age 122 The fast and the furious: drone swarming and hypersonic weapons 139 The AI-cyber security nexus 161 Delegating strategic decisions to intelligent machines 179 Conclusion: managing an AI future 209 Index 232