AI's First World War: A Silent Technological War with Global Strategic Stakes

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a major strategic issue, giving rise to a First Technological World War where major powers compete for computational and algorithmic supremacy. This competition is based on the mastery of advanced hardware infrastructures (GPUs, TPUs, ASICs) and increasingly powerful learning models, notably Transformers and LLMs . However, this rise in power is accompanied by new threats in cybersecurity , where AI is both an offensive weapon and a defensive shield. From adversarial attacks to autonomous malware, vulnerabilities in AI systems are becoming prime targets, forcing cybersecurity players to develop adversarial training and automatic threat detection techniques . In the face of these advances, AI regulation is becoming a crucial challenge. Europe is imposing strict rules with the AI Act , while the United States favors a sector-specific approach and China is centralizing control of AI. However, the absence of a harmonized international framework could lead to technological fragmentation, accentuating the AI race between geopolitical blocs. In this First World War of AI, dominance will not only be determined by the performance of algorithms, but also by the ability of nations to balance innovation, security, and governance to shape the digital future.