“The country that will first reap the benefits of artificial intelligence will receive a decisive advantage on the battlefield for many years to come. We must be the first to come to this, ”Esper said at a conference on artificial intelligence in Washington, broadcast by the Pentagon on Twitter.
According to him, China has already begun the construction of fully autonomous strike complexes, including submarines.
“Beijing has made it clear that it intends to be a world leader in artificial intelligence by 2030,” says Esper.
Esper recalled that, according to Washington, Chinese 5G technology also poses a security risk.
In addition, Esper warned of Russia's readiness to “use the latest technology against democratic countries.”
“We expect that Russia will use increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence systems in present and future war zones,” the Pentagon chief said.
He stressed that there is no doubt that the artificial intelligence will be used by the military around the world, but called for preventing the dominance of "authoritarian" countries in this area.
In September, the former Pentagon deputy head Robert Work warned of the dangers of the widespread use of artificial intelligence in the nuclear weapons system.