A new study suggests that China is significantly increasing the speed of its new weapon development by embedding artificial intelligence (AI) into industrial manufacturing processes. Researchers have developed AI tools for autonomous design of critical machinery components.

While much of military AI globally focuses on autonomous weapons and large language models, a new study suggests Beijing may also be pursuing a quieter transformation: embedding artificial intelligence (AI) in the deepest layers of industrial manufacturing. A study published last month in the Chinese defence engineering journal Acta Armamentarii described how researchers developed an AI-powered “bearing design agent” – capable of autonomously designing rolling bearings in advanced machinery. The...