EXCLUSIVE: A recent analysis from a conservative policy institute suggests that artificial intelligence represents the modern “cold war” between the United States and China.

The Center for Security Policy’s report asserts that AI is the latest battleground of the 21st century, cautioning that the Chinese Communist Party is on the verge of leading the world in AI technology. It warns that if China achieves its goal of AI supremacy by 2030, the U.S. risks falling to the status of a “second-rate power or worse.”

The document emphasizes that the immediate and significant challenge to America’s leadership in AI comes from the People’s Republic of China. It highlights that the decisive period for AI dominance is within the next five years, framing the situation as a critical threat to the future of the United States and global stability.

The significance of maintaining U.S. prominence in AI lies in the potential “dangers” posed by the CCP’s leadership in the field, according to the report.

The American and Chinese national flags wave at the Fairmont Peace Hotel on April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (Wang Gang/VCG via Getty Images)

The report further elaborates that AI developed in the United States is generally guided by ethical principles, a standard that may not be mirrored in China. It points out that the CCP’s ethical framework is designed to preserve ideological conformity, discipline, and the legitimacy of the Party’s leadership, rather than being rooted in an enduring moral philosophy.

If China becomes the world’s leader in AI, the report states that the CCP could be “positioning itself to dictate technology standards worldwide.”

“American and other Western companies will be pressured or compelled to adapt their technologies to those developed under the CCP’s sponsorship instead of the other way around,” the report’s author states.

The report comes as Secretary of State Marco Rubio reaffirmed the United State’s support for Taiwan, which China has threatened to invade.

“I don’t think you’re going to see some trade deal where, if what people are worried about is we’re going to get some trade deal, or we’re going to get favorable treatment on trade in exchange for walking away from Taiwan,” Rubio said. “No one is contemplating that.”

The report also states that if the CCP can “flood the world market” with cheap and high-quality AI, China could drive American companies out of business.

Even worse, the report says China will use AI to increase its military power in a way that would challenge America’s world dominance.

“CCP advancements in AI will challenge the US across all domains, spanning autonomous weapons, high-speed battlespace decision making, and deep integration of civilian innovation into the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) arsenal,” the report states. “The CCP has mastered technology to deploy as drones, robotic vehicles, and robotic dogs in swarms to track and destroy targets with minimal human intervention. Humanoid combat robots, which the CCP calls ‘supersoldiers,’ are in their early stages but are also designed to operate in swarms.”

New recruits of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) attend a send-off ceremony at a railway station in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China March 16, 2023.  (China Daily via REUTERS )

Center for Security Policy Senior Analyst J. Michael Waller, the report’s author, told Fox News Digital that America is at risk of losing “everything” if it allows China to get ahead on AI.

“If we allow China to become dominant in AI, we lose everything. They control the elements, the physical elements needed to create the hardware to run AI. If they’re able to dominate the market worldwide, set the worldwide standards, then we end up working for the Chinese Communist Party,” he said.

The Pentagon building in Arlington, Virginia, on Friday, April 21, 2023.  (Tom Brenner/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Waller said the national security implications of China becoming the world’s leader in AI would be “beyond anything we’ve ever imagined before.”

“Imagine having an artificial intelligence system that tells us what we need to know, tells us how to think, does the reasoning for us, and then does the reasoning for machines,” Waller said.