Geo-Strategic Competition in the Age of AI and Biotechnology

• In Event: Poster Session: Dynamics of International Conflict and Competition

Abstract

Holding the technological high ground has come to be recognized as the key to success in great power competition and conflict. The rapidly evolving advancements in artificial intelligence – and in particular in natural language processing – dominate the headlines. As does the race between the United States and China for the earliest and strongest A.I. capabilities. Drawing on interviews, government documents, and fieldwork, this paper offers insights into geostrategic competition in the age of A.I. and biotechnology by pursuing the following questions: How does the political and military leadership in China view the power of biotechnology and A.I. in the context of intensifying great power competition? What are China’s current, emerging, and anticipated biotech capabilities with weaponization potential? How does Beijing’s approach and capabilities compare (and relate) to those of Washington and Moscow?

Author

• Yelena Biberman-Ocakli, Skidmore College