In today’s world, technology is changing everything—including how wars are fought. One of the most powerful tools in modern battles is Artificial Intelligence, or AI.
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AI helps armies plan attacks, control drones, and make decisions faster than any human could. But just as AI can help win wars, it can also be tricked, fooled, or stopped altogether.
China’s military is now working hard to find ways to fight not just with AI, but against it. This kind of fighting is called anti-AI warfare. It means using special methods to confuse, block, or damage the enemy’s AI systems. These methods don’t just rely on bombs or guns—they use tricks with data, logic, and computers.
Recently, China’s main military newspaper explained how the country’s armed forces are thinking about anti-AI warfare. This is the first time these ideas have been shared in such detail. The newspaper described how the military might attack an enemy’s AI systems by going after three main things: data, algorithms, and computer power.
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Dirty Data, Fake Signals, and Strange Moves
One of the biggest ways AI systems can be weakened is by messing with the data they use. AI learns how to act by studying lots of data. If that data is wrong or tricky, the AI can make bad choices. China’s military is looking at ways to “pollute” the data that enemy AI systems use. This could mean spreading fake information or changing the patterns in the data.
For example, weapons could be camouflaged so they don’t look like weapons. Or fake messages could be sent across enemy networks. If enemy AI systems pick up these false signals, they could learn the wrong things. This would make them less accurate and easier to beat.
Another method is called “logical deception.” This means doing things that don’t fit the usual patterns that AI expects. If a group of drones suddenly flies in strange, unexpected ways, it becomes hard for the enemy AI to guess what will happen next. That makes it harder to plan a defense.
These tricky tactics are not new. For years, China’s military has talked about something called “deceptive warfare.” It means using clever tricks to confuse the enemy instead of just attacking them directly. Now, they are using those same ideas against high-tech tools like AI.
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Overloading Systems and Targeting Infrastructure
Besides tricking AI with fake data and weird behavior, China’s military is also looking at ways to break down the systems that make AI work. AI systems need a lot of computer power to run. They also need strong networks to move data around, and electricity to keep everything on.
The military could try to slow down or even stop the enemy’s AI by hitting these support systems. One way is by sending out too much data—called “noise”—to overload the computers. This noise can come in many forms: pictures, sounds, videos, and even signals in the air. When a computer has to deal with all this extra stuff, it becomes slower and less able to make smart decisions.
Another method is to attack the actual buildings and machines that run AI. These include the computer centers where the AI lives, the wires and towers that send data, and the power lines that give them energy. If those things are damaged or shut down, the AI can’t work.
All of these ideas show that China’s military is not just focused on building powerful AI for itself. It is also working on ways to stop other countries from using their AI in battle. This is part of a larger strategy to stay ahead in the age of digital warfare.
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Studying the Enemy and Preparing for the Fight
China’s military is also working on studying how other countries use AI in war. By doing this, they can find weak points and think of ways to block or confuse those systems. This kind of “reverse study” helps them figure out what kinds of data the enemy collects and how to stop it.
This kind of thinking matches a long-standing idea in China’s military history: the balance of spear and shield. Just like warriors in the past needed both offense and defense, today’s military must both use AI and defend against it. That means having tools to attack enemy AI systems and to protect their own.
Even though many of these tactics are still being studied or tested, the fact that China’s military newspaper has talked about them in public shows how seriously they are taking this new kind of warfare. It is not just about weapons and soldiers anymore. It is about data, logic, computers, and the silent battles between machines that think.
China’s military is preparing for a future where battles may be fought more with computer codes than with bullets. And in that world, the ability to fool, jam, or destroy AI systems may be just as important as having the fastest jet or the biggest tank.