The US military is devising a new system designed to field thousands of drones controlled by artificial intelligence, deputy Pentagon chief Kathleen Hicks said on Wednesday, voicing hopes the tech would help to overcome Beijing’s “advantage in mass.” Speaking at the yearly Defense News conference in Arlington, Virginia, Hicks outlined the Pentagon’s new “Replicator Initiative,” which aims to develop a fleet of low-cost, AI-powered drones that will operate in ‘swarms’ in the air, land and sea. “With Replicator, we’re beginning with all-domain, attritable autonomy, or ADA2, to help us overcome...