Abstract: As artificial intelligence technologies continue to evolve, their military applications are extending from auxiliary tasks into the core stages of the kill chain, profoundly reshaping the character of warfare. These applications exhibit two distinctive features. First, unmanned systems possess greater autonomy and combat effectiveness and are becoming a decisive factor in battlefield outcomes. Second, they substantially compress the observe–orient–decide–act (OODA) loop, improving the efficiency of command decision-making. The military applications of AI have multiple impacts: security risks and ethical challenges are increasing sharply; the structural power of AI technology giants is growing rapidly and becoming deeply intertwined with state power; the strategic value of critical infrastructure such as commercial data centres is rising significantly, while the tendency to securitise AI production and supply chains is becoming more pronounced; and national power is being redefined, intensifying instability and imbalances in the existing international order. Looking ahead, the prospects for military intelligentisation depend on the direction of AI technological development, national concepts and practical approaches to military intelligentisation, and the progress of global AI governance.
Keywords: military applications of artificial intelligence; military intelligentisation; global AI governance; ethics of war
Author: Lang Ping; Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
Source: Lang, P. (2026). Characteristics, Impacts and Prospects of the Military Applications of Artificial Intelligence. Contemporary World, (7), 61–67.
Publish date: 2026/7/25
Original Link: 
人工智能军事应用的特征、影响及前景_郎平.pdf
