中國招募「最聰明學生」 研發殺手機器人 自由20181108

【Comment】

THIS IS AN "KILLING ACE" OF CHINESE MILITARY SYSTEM AGAINST THE US AND THE NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES.

The AI weapon is not only an issue of efficiency or capability.  It is, in fact, a dispute issue of moral. 

Should we allow just few persons to authorize machines to kill any people without any institutional monitoring? 

The drones opened that debate already.  The AI weapons are a million times graver then the drones.

The core is what you see people's lifes, the last thing Beijing would consider..

中國招募「最聰明學生」 研發殺手機器人    自由20181108

香港南華早報報導，中國一群「最聰明」的高中學生受到招募，接受訓練製造人工智慧（AI）殺手機器人，以成為世界最年輕的AI武器科學家。

北京理工大學網頁顯示，該校募集了31名「愛國」青少年，共27名少年、4名少女，年齡為18歲或以下，他們從逾5千名候選人中脫穎而出，獲選參與為期四年的「智慧武器系統實驗計畫」。

北理大是中國最頂尖武器研究中心之一， 其最新計畫的推動顯示，該校非常重視人工智慧科技發展的軍事應用。

一名參與遴選的北理大教授匿名指出：「這些孩子都異常聰明，但只有聰明是不夠的。我們尋求創意思考、願意鬥爭及艱困不屈等特質。發展新武器的熱情是必要的，而且他們必須愛國。」

該計畫資料顯示，每位學生都會受到兩名資深武器科學家輔導，其中一人擁有學術背景，另一人則來自國防產業領域。

對此，國際科學政策專家形容，這些課程「極度強大且令人不安」。加州大學柏克萊分校人工智慧教授羅素（Stuart Russell）批評，這項計畫是「很壞的主意」。

紐約聯合國大學政策研究中心學者鮑威爾斯（Eleonore Pauwels）亦感憂心，因為這是全球首起大學計畫，具野心和戰略地培養下一代思考、設計及發揮AI在軍事研究及用途。

China’s brightest children are being recruited to develop AI ‘killer bots’    SCMP 20181108

• Beijing Institute of Technology recruits 31 ‘patriotic’ youngsters for new AI weapons development programme
• Expert in international science policy describes course as ‘extremely powerful and troubling’

A group of some of China’s smartest students have been recruited straight from high school to begin training as the world’s youngest AI weapons scientists.

表單的頂端

The 27 boys and four girls, all aged 18 and under, were selected for the four-year “experimental programme for intelligent weapons systems” at the Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) from more than 5,000 candidates, the school said on its website.

The BIT is one of the country’s top weapons research institutes, and the launch of the new programme is evidence of the weight it places on the development of AI technology for military use.

China is in competition with the United States and other nations in the race to develop deadly AI applications – from nuclear submarines with self-learning chips to microscopic robots that can crawl into human blood vessels.

“These kids are all exceptionally bright, but being bright is not enough,” said a BIT professor who was involved in the screening process but asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject.

“We are looking for other qualities such as creative thinking, willingness to fight, a persistence when facing challenges,” he said.  “A passion for developing new weapons is a must … and they must also be patriots.”

Each student will be mentored by two senior weapons scientists, one from an academic background and the other from the defence industry, according to the programme’s brochure.

After completing a short programme of course work in the first semester, the students will be asked to choose a speciality field, such as mechanical engineering, electronics or overall weapon design.  They will then be assigned to a relevant defence laboratory where they will be able to develop their skills through hands-on experience.

One of the students is Qi Yishen from east China’s Shandong province, who said he had had a keen interest in guns and weapons since he was a young boy and enjoyed reading books and magazines on the subject.

As well as being offered an interview for the BIT programme he was in the running for a place at Tsinghua University, one of China’s top seats of learning, but both visits were scheduled for the same day.

“When I arrived in Beijing, I loitered at the railway station for a long time.  But then I went to BIT … I couldn’t resist the attraction,” he was quoted as saying on the institute’s website.

He said his decision was also influenced by his father, who wanted him to work in the defence industry.

BIT launched the programme at the headquarters of Norinco, one of China’s biggest defence contractors, on October 28.

“We are walking a new path, doing things that nobody has done before,” said student representative Cui Liyuan in an official statement.

After completing the four-year course, the students are expected to continue on to a PhD programme and become the next leaders of China’s AI weapons programme, the institute said.