Artificial intelligence almost provoked an armed conflict between the US and China: details of the incident

The US military almost conducted an operation against a Chinese vessel because of a false intelligence report generated using artificial intelligence. The document falsely claimed that the vessel was carrying components for a nuclear program.

This is reported by CNN .

The report was prepared by an analyst with the US Special Operations Command during the war with Iran. Based on it, the US military began preparing to intercept the vessel, and armed servicemen, according to sources, were preparing to board.

Immediately before the operation, officials further investigated the information and determined that the analyst was using an artificial intelligence chatbot. The system incorrectly identified the ship’s cargo, after which the analyst used AI to generate a standard intelligence report and distribute it to the military.

One source called the report “completely false” and said the situation “almost led to war.” A potential operation against the Chinese vessel could have led to armed conflict between the United States and China.

According to journalists, this case also demonstrated the lack of uniform standards for verifying information generated by various AI systems in the American military and intelligence structures.

Meanwhile, the US is actively implementing AI in the military, including for intelligence analysis, targeting, logistics, and other tasks. In January, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a strategy to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence in the military.

Recall that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have advocated slowing down the development of the most powerful artificial intelligence systems . They believe that this is necessary to strengthen security and create mechanisms to control the development of the technology.

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