The Age of A.I. and Our Human Future

by Henry Kissinger

AI and machine learning will change actors’ strategic and tactical options by expanding the capabilities of existing classes of weapons. Not only can AI enable conventional weapons to be targeted more precisely, it can also enable them to be targeted in new and unconventional ways—such as (at least in theory) at a particular individual or object rather than a location.13 By poring through vast amounts of information, AI cyber weapons can learn how to penetrate defenses without requiring humans to discover software flaws that can be exploited. By the same token, AI can also be used defensively, locating and repairing flaws before they are exploited. But since the attacker can choose the target, AI gives the party on offense an inherent if not insuperable advantage.