As the US and China continue to vie for dominance in the emerging field of artificial intelligence, a new technology has been developed that could potentially give the Asian giant an advantage over its Western rival. Chinese scientists have allegedly developed a revolutionary military surveillance technology that they claim will give enemies on the battlefield no place to hide. The research, reportedly conducted by researchers from Beijing, claims to be able to detect and track electromagnetic frequencies that would otherwise be undetectable. Details of the new technology were published in a peer-reviewed article in the Chinese academic journal Radio Communications Technology on January 17 by project leader Yang Kai, a professor from the School of Information and Electronics at Beijing Institute of Technology.
The new technology, which the scientists call a ”technological breakthrough”, can achieve seamless, wide bandwidth, real-time monitoring, and analysis across the electromagnetic spectrum. According to the report, this enables the Chinese team to expose enemy forces and their weapons on the battlefield. The equipment is reportedly tiny in size and high in performance and can be deployed at the scene of conflict.
Yang explains that his team can track the electromagnetic signals emitted by civilian and military targets, including drones, missiles, and electronic warfare equipment. The technology can instantly decode the physical characteristics of enemy signals and effectively neutralize them while ensuring uninterrupted communication for Chinese military personnel. This technology is expected to be widely used in the future.
However, the report has left many senior security and quantum experts in the US concerned. Despite the claims of the Beijing scientists, it is possible that the technology could be hacked by other parties. Additionally, there is still a risk of technical failures by the Chinese military in using AI-enabled systems. For example, what if an early warning system erroneously detects a US strike as a counterattack and triggers a response by the Chinese government?
The Beijing Institute of Technology research is a further sign of China’s growing sophistication in artificial intelligence. The country already has several advanced AI-enabled technologies, including its Replicator initiative, aimed at developing thousands of autonomous ships, aircraft, and drones capable of operating in unmanned swarms. It also has a domestic industry for military applications of AI, including a burgeoning number of companies that compete with U.S.-based companies in the same AI sub-fields. These companies often receive research funding and support from the Chinese government and collaborate with state-owned enterprises such as the CCSC. As a result, they have an advantage in terms of speed and scope of development that the American private sector has yet to match. This is particularly true given that Chinese companies can access resources from the government and military establishments that the American private sector cannot.
