On February 28, 2020, the world's richest man, Tesla Tesla Musk Musk, held a panel discussion on "The Future of The Integration of Civilian Technology and Military Space space" in the United States.
Just as Musk was shifting the topic from space launches to the development of future U.S. space fighters, an American general suddenly asked Musk: "How can the United States defeat China now?" Musk was stunned for a moment before he reacted. Listening to his answer, everyone was expressionless and silent.
Why should the U.S. admiral openly ask questions about China? What exactly was Musk's reaction that silenced the audience?
It is not difficult to see why the American general should openly express his concerns about China. Because China's development speed is too fast, compared with the early days of the founding of New China, China has long since come out of the cocoon of transformation, and has made achievements in the economic, scientific, technological, military and other aspects that shock the world.
While the United States prides itself on its military superiority relative to the rest of the world, the United States today cannot limit China's prosperity solely with its past policies of confrontation and repression toward China.
This is a wake-up call for senior U.S. officials, who naturally see China as the second "eye nail" after Russia. That's why the Air Force admiral asked Musk bluntly how he beat China.
Under direct pressure from the Admiral, Musk made no secret of the fact that the United States remains the world's largest economy, and China is also the world's second-largest economy. China's economic development has also surpassed that of the United States, which has grown slowly in recent years.
Musk asserts that in the future, China's overall economic level will be two to three times that of the United States.
But the most disturbing thing is that Musk boldly predicted China's future, when China's economic development reaches a certain level and can support the development of military capabilities, China's military development will have a solid guarantee, and China's military capabilities will also achieve a qualitative leap, gradually surpassing the United States, which is only a matter of time.
The only way the United States wants to maintain its military leadership is through "radical innovation."
Musk believes that if you want to defeat China, you must first reform the Air Force. It is not feasible to settle for stagnation based solely on years of U.S. military savings. We need innovation, and we need to innovate more thoroughly than ever before.
The most important of these is innovation in the field of drones, which will become the core combat force of the US Air Force.
Therefore, the United States must rely on the combat readiness of new unmanned aerial vehicles to consolidate its hegemony.
He also proposed that with the advancement of technology and the development of intelligent systems in the modern world, the traditional manned fighter will be replaced by unmanned combat aircraft.
The future of air combat will be the world of drones.
However, Musk is wary of AI, fearing that IT is far more intelligent than humans can afford. In particular, he pointed out that artificial intelligence is not a powerful robot, but a computational method that has always been in the hands of humans.
As a result, Musk added, the decision to destroy targets remains in the hands of people behind drone screens, and human rights remain paramount in combat. If AI is out of control, or is likely to lead to the demise of humanity, it is important to ensure that humans are involved and prepared to respond.
Of course, Musk isn't the only one who's afraid of the power of AI, as do other tech leaders like Hawking and Bill Gates.
In addition to outlining the challenges at this stage, Musk also said that once the concept is implemented, future production will be a big problem.
In actual production, it is also related to whether mass production can be realized, or whether it can only meet small-scale mass production. A prime example is SpaceX, a former space exploration technology company.
He even came up with the idea of using neuronal drones on the spot, an idea so avant-garde and bold that everyone in the room was shocked and the room was silent.
Who is Musk? How can you come to this conclusion in front of everyone?
Known as the "Iron Man of Silicon Valley", he is a genius adventurer with an "intermittent" life.
At the age of 12, Musk, unlike other kids his age, coded his favorite space-like knowledge and designed a space game software.
At the age of 24, Musk made a bold decision to drop out of Stanford University and start an internet company with his brother instead of waiting for the internet company to extend an "olive branch."
He went on to found Pal, the world's largest online payment platform, formerly known as mobile payments, space exploration technology companies SpaceX and Tesla.
Looking back at Musk's entrepreneurial history, I have to admire his genius. He started his space exploration technology company, SpaceX, before graduating, when he had ambitions to colonize humans to Mars.
Even in this process, many difficulties have been encountered and many blows have been suffered. But Musk didn't give up, and in the long run, he did many unexpected miracles.
Over the past few years, Musk has announced plans to build a large rocket that could send Tesla Sports cars into space to enable the migration to Mars.
Everyone thinks he can't do it, but Musk proves he can. Based on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, the Tesla Sports Car truly went into outer space.
(Musk sends Tesla Sports car into space)
In addition to delivering the sports car, Musk also completed the space docking. This makes SpaceX the only private company in human history to complete space docking. So, Musk is tough.
For many, the ecstatic Musk is a mystery. He did many miracles in his life, and even though he was in deep trouble and on the verge of bankruptcy, he always "willowed the flower" and seized the opportunity to "ascend ninety thousand miles." "
The depth of his knowledge in these areas depends on how much he over-reads. Musk has loved reading since he was a child. Over the years, he read with gummonia, more than ten times as much as the average person.
Books that have had a profound impact on Musk include Asimov's Al Qaeda and Adams' Guide to The Galaxy. He pointed out that the Internet, clean energy and space exploration are three areas that may affect the future of humanity.
In fact, he has entered these fields, achieving all three ideals of his life before he turns 40.
Musk currently holds senior positions at Tesla, space exploration technology company SpaceX, Sun City, and ARTIFICIAL intelligence R&D and deployment companies, focusing on high-tech fields such as electric vehicles, self-driving cars, private space exploration, Mars migration, solar energy and artificial intelligence.
However, he was never just a businessman, but focused on the big problems of the universe and humanity. Musk's march into green, clean energy and space exploration has only one goal - to save humanity.
He believes that the energy available to humans will eventually be exhausted and that new energy must be found to replace it. How long the Earth will be able to support humanity is unclear. Maybe there's an ecosystem on the verge of collapse, so find another suitable habitable planet as early as possible. That's why Musk is actively exploring space.
Musk once said, "I hope that what I do will have a profound impact on human life." Either in a historical way or in a historic way. ”
As a leader in the technology field, Musk has sufficient industry experience and a unique insight into the development of the world. That's why he was able to point out the development dilemma of the United States so sharply at the seminar.
Musk stood in his vantage point, exposing some of the key issues facing the United States at the meeting. The United States is now surpassed by other countries in many areas, and if it does not consolidate its technological prowess, it may lose its position as the number one power in the near future.
If the United States wants to launch a war against China at this time, it will not profit from it, but will "steal chickens and dogs" and cause great damage to its own development.
Musk has repeatedly stressed that breakthroughs and achievements in drones and artificial intelligence systems are the only way out for the United States to be untouchable in its international status.
However, many countries have adopted a military-civilian integration approach to the development of science and technology, which means that there is still a lot of room for countries to integrate their capabilities in the field of science and technology.
Most of the audience and attendees were current U.S. Air Force officials who were naturally aware of Musk's comments on U.S. issues, and it was no wonder they stood there with a serious look and silence.
With the rapid development of science and technology, the technology of artificial intelligence is also getting higher and higher. Today, artificial intelligence is changing, and as Musk said at the time, countries attach great importance to military power.
The in-depth application of artificial intelligence in military weapons and equipment will make artificial intelligence military a dark horse with unlimited potential.
Artificial intelligence technology has played an important role in the military field and has attracted the attention of countries around the world. At the same time, countries around the world are formulating development strategies around scientific and technological innovation.
Now it seems that Musk's words have come true. China's economic growth is sufficient to support military development. After decades of pursuit, Chinese drones have caught up with the world's first camp.
This has also been echoed by Chinese drones, which are often purchased to fight in Middle Eastern countries.
If the future air battlefield is really dominated by drones, then China is undoubtedly one of the most powerful players.
(China""Rainbow"4" drone)
The top fear is that the pace of China's economic growth cannot be controlled. Musk's views on america's predicament remain.
At the same time, high technology continues to promote the upgrading of military equipment, affecting the balance of strength between China and the United States. China's continuous progress in the field of high technology has not only led to the development of related industries and narrowed the gap with the United States, but also enabled China to realize the modernization and upgrading of its military through technological progress, and has the ability to threaten the hegemonism of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region.
Out of concern about the threat of national security in international economic competition, and in order to ensure that the United States' pursuit of hegemonic status is not hindered, "responding to the China challenge" has become the basic consensus of US politics and academia.
The Biden administration has made it clear that "China is the only strategic competitor that can combine its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to pose a continuing threat to the current stable and open international system." ”
Therefore, China has always been the object of great concern of the US National Security Council, and restricting China's arms upgrading and strategic competitiveness has always been the core content of the US China policy.
In such a "big environment", China is also innovating military science and technology, and strives to take the lead in researching intelligent UAVs in the military field to maximize benefits.
Military strength is the unremitting pursuit of the development of each country, artificial intelligence has made each country see a new dawn, and the development of artificial intelligence in the future is still the focus of scientific and technological research in each country.