By Li Hai
李海
The US recently hosted the Project Convergence Capstone 4 (PC-C4) joint exercises, during which the US, the UK and Australia (the AUKUS) tested AI-supported UAVs and other autonomous combat devices, marking a significant step forward in the alliance's integration of their AI defense systems.
美國近日主辦“融合項(xiàng)目—頂點(diǎn)4”聯(lián)合演習(xí)。演習(xí)中，美英澳三國組成的“奧庫斯”聯(lián)盟，測試了人工智能（AI）技術(shù)支撐下的無人機(jī)和其他自主作戰(zhàn)裝置。這是“奧庫斯”聯(lián)盟在整合人工智能防御系統(tǒng)方面邁出的重要一步。
This was the first time that autonomous and AI sensing systems were used in a real-time military environment. UAVs from the three countries operated in the same airspace, through which the operators were able to locate, paralyze and destroy ground targets.
此次測試首次在實(shí)時軍事環(huán)境中使用自主和人工智能傳感系統(tǒng)。來自美英澳三國的無人機(jī)在同一空域共同行動，操作員能夠定位、癱瘓和摧毀地面目標(biāo)。
According to a statement from the U.S. DoD, the testing was aimed to minimize the time needed to identify enemy targets. Once the technology is proven and integrated into national platforms, the new sensing systems will be able to produce more reliable data that will help the commanders make the best decisions, and enable the military to cope with the threats posed by kinetic weapons more quickly and efficiently and organize joint military operations involving multiple services and nations.
根據(jù)美國國防部發(fā)表的聲明，該測試旨在最大限度縮短識別敵方目標(biāo)所需的時間，一旦技術(shù)成熟并融入國家級平臺，這些新的傳感系統(tǒng)將產(chǎn)生更可靠的數(shù)據(jù)，指揮官可據(jù)此作出最佳決策，軍方也可更快更有效應(yīng)對動能武器威脅，開展涉及多個軍種和國家的聯(lián)合軍事行動。
The AI-based combat devices recently tested by AUKUS do reflect the future trend on the battlefield, but they come with obvious ethical issues. The AI technology is too complicated for engineers to precisely anticipate the system decisions. If unmanned weapon systems are completely autonomous, anything out of expectation would lead to catastrophic consequences.
“奧庫斯”聯(lián)盟日前測試的人工智能作戰(zhàn)工具，固然反映出未來戰(zhàn)場發(fā)展趨勢，但隨相關(guān)倫理問題也越發(fā)明顯。人工智能技術(shù)過于復(fù)雜，工程師往往無法準(zhǔn)確預(yù)測系統(tǒng)的決策，一旦完全自主化的無人武器系統(tǒng)發(fā)生意料之外的情況，造成的后果可能是災(zāi)難性的。
The trilateral joint statement by the US, the UK and Australia in September 2021 said that the US and the UK would together sell sensitive nuclear-powered assault submarines to Australia, bringing the AUKUS into being. The recent test once again indicated, in more than one way, what the trilateral military bloc really is.
2021年9月，美英澳三國發(fā)表聯(lián)合聲明，由美英聯(lián)手向澳大利亞出售敏感的攻擊核潛艇，“奧庫斯”聯(lián)盟從此肇始。此次測試也從多個角度折射出這個三邊軍事集團(tuán)的本質(zhì)所在。
First of all, the AUKUS is a close political, military and technological alliance of the three countries. The test can be seen as an expansion of the member states' scope of cooperation from nuclear submarines to AI and UAVs. The American website, Defense News, said the nuclear submarine is the cornerstone of AUKUS, and the three countries' scope of cooperation would gradually expand to other domains such as AI, robotics, supercomputing, chips, and intelligence sharing.
首先，“奧庫斯”是美英澳緊密結(jié)成的政治、軍事和技術(shù)多重聯(lián)盟。這次測試可被視為聯(lián)盟內(nèi)部合作范圍的擴(kuò)展，即從核潛艇領(lǐng)域擴(kuò)展到人工智能與無人機(jī)。美國防務(wù)新聞網(wǎng)站稱，核潛艇是“奧庫斯”的“立盟之本”，三國合作范圍將逐步擴(kuò)展到人工智能、機(jī)器人、超算、芯片、情報共享等領(lǐng)域。
Second, AUKUS' war-mongering nature is laid bare. Ever since its formation, the US and the UK have felt no qualms about selling nuclear submarines and weapon-grade nuclear materials to Australia, a non-nuclear state, in stark violation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Now the alliance is accelerating the military application of AI and minced no words about its intention of coping with the so-called major-country competition, behind which is its true purpose of starting the "new Cold War" against the trend of the times, which will gravely sabotage regional peace and stability.
其次，“奧庫斯”聯(lián)盟熱衷于對抗的色彩更加暴露無遺。這個聯(lián)盟自成立之日起，美英就不惜實(shí)質(zhì)性違背《不擴(kuò)散核武器條約》，向澳大利亞這一無核國家出售核潛艇以及武器級核材料。如今，“奧庫斯”聯(lián)盟又加緊推進(jìn)人工智能軍事應(yīng)用，并且毫不掩飾地宣稱是為了應(yīng)對“大國競爭”，實(shí)為逆潮流而動重啟“新冷戰(zhàn)”，嚴(yán)重破壞地區(qū)和平與穩(wěn)定。
Third, the AUKUS is a tightly bound alliance under America's lead, unlike NATO. The US has clear-cut standards for AUKUS' founding members and potential new entrants – allies of the highest level with great economic, military, and technological capabilities, strong strategic aggressiveness, and the willingness to follow the US in confronting its major rivals. Washington sees the other AUKUS members as its "iron-clad followers", and the three of them often jointly develop and share sensitive, sophisticated technologies. This will aggravate bloc confrontation, increase the risk of weapon proliferation, and destroy peace and stability in the Asia Pacific.
再次，這是美國主導(dǎo)下的“親密度”極高的聯(lián)盟。與北約不同，美國對“奧庫斯”聯(lián)盟創(chuàng)始成員和潛在擴(kuò)員對象的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)很明顯：最高層級的心腹盟友；具有較強(qiáng)經(jīng)濟(jì)、軍事、技術(shù)實(shí)力；戰(zhàn)略進(jìn)攻性強(qiáng)，愿意緊緊追隨美國對抗其主要競爭對手。美國將“奧庫斯”聯(lián)盟其他成員國視為“鐵桿小弟”，經(jīng)常在聯(lián)盟內(nèi)部聯(lián)手發(fā)展并共享較為敏感的尖端技術(shù)。這種做法將加劇陣營對抗和武器擴(kuò)散風(fēng)險，破壞亞太地區(qū)和平穩(wěn)定。
