Retired US Army General Richard Clark has predicted that armed conflicts in the future will utilise autonomous systems with artificial intelligence, with clashes occurring in both space and cyberspace. Speaking at the RSA Conference, Clark noted that a single person could control up to 20 aircraft. Clark urged those in the field to consider how they will fight AI, autonomous ships, and aircraft, as well as small and dispersed systems. He added that the United States could benefit from a shift away from its focus on counter-terrorism to bolster the country’s technological defense capabilities against larger global competitors. In this regard, Clark claimed that China has already stolen and developed American research and is ahead of the US in hypersonic technology.
In addition to clashes on land, air, and sea, Clark emphasised that conflicts on Earth are also being waged in space and cyberspace, as demonstrated in 2022. He contended that any major conflict from now on would feature participation in cyberspace and space, utilising commercial satellite systems to provide unexpected satellite images more quickly than those controlled by governments.
Clark also highlighted that the use of AI in future conflicts would enable a range of destructive attacks. Autonomous aircraft could drop bombs into cities, or malicious automated programs could disable energy systems in the midst of winter. Clark suggested that both the army and civil society organisations should take into consideration how these technologies might be leveraged to create misinformation campaigns and deep fakes.