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<\/p>\nChina is planning to upgrade its naval power with unmanned AI submarines that aim to provide an edge over the fleets of their global counterparts.<\/p>\n
A report by the South China Post on Sunday revealed Beijing\u2019s plans to build the automated subs by the early 2020s in response to unmanned weapons being developed in the US.<\/p>\n
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The subs will be able to patrol areas in the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean that are home to disputed military bases.<\/p>\n
While the expected cost of the submarines has not been disclosed, they\u2019re likely to be cheaper than conventional submarines as they do not require life-supporting apparatus for humans. However, without a human crew, they\u2019ll also need to be resilient enough to be at sea without onboard repairs possible.<\/p>\n
The XLUUVs (Extra-Large Unmanned Underwater Vehicles) are much bigger than current underwater vehicles, will be able to dock as any other conventional submarine, and will carry a large amount of weaponry and equipment.<\/p>\n
As a last resort, they could be used in automated \u2018suicide\u2019 attacks that scuttle the vessel but causes damage to an enemy\u2019s ship that may or not be manned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe AI has no soul. It is perfect for this kind of job,\u201d said Lin Yang, Chief Scientist on the project. \u201c[An AI sub] can be instructed to take down a nuclear-powered submarine or other high-value targets. It can even perform a kamikaze strike.\u201d<\/p>\n
The AI element of the submarines will need to carry out many tasks including navigating often unpredictable waters, following patrol routes, identifying friendly or hostile ships, and making appropriate decisions.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the decision-making that will cause the most concern as the AI is being designed\u00a0not\u00a0<\/i>to seek input during the course of a mission.<\/p>\n
The international norm being promoted by AI researchers is that any weaponised AI system will require human input to ultimately make a decision. Any news that China is following a policy of creating weaponised AIs that do not require human input should be of global concern.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China is planning to upgrade its naval power with unmanned AI submarines that aim to provide an edge over the fleets of their global counterparts. A report by the South China Post on Sunday revealed Beijing\u2019s plans to build the automated subs by the early 2020s in response to unmanned weapons being developed in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3221,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"amp_status":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"China plans new era of sea power with unmanned AI submarines","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[208],"tags":[127,83],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n