Pentagon said to plan massive AI fleet to counter China, other foes

The U.S. Department of Defense within the next two years plans to deploy an extensive network of technology, drones and autonomous systems powered by artificial intelligence to ward off threats from China and other foes, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Kathleen Hicks, the deputy secretary of defense, offered more details about the plan at a conference hosted by Defense News. The Pentagon intends to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to produce an array of thousands of air-, land- and sea-based artificial-intelligence systems that are intended to be "small, smart, cheap," she said. One possibility will be the further…