Rethinking warfare in the AI era: the Modern System, asymmetric conflict and Taiwan’s cross-strait security

This study investigates whether the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into military operations represents a continuation of doctrinal models or a fundamental shift in the conduct of warfare. Drawing on the Russia – Ukraine conflict, it shows how AI is reshaping tactical decision-making by accelerating operational tempo and altering the dynamics of battlefield effectiveness. While Biddle’s Modern System persists in Ukraine’s tactical practice, disruptions in coordination highlight AI’s role in reinforcing force integration and accelerating decision-making under pressure. Extending this analysis, the study examines how China has institutionalized AI through intelligentized warfare, ranging from drone swarms in field operations to algorithm-driven command systems. By contrast, Taiwan’s AI adaptation reflects uneven and fragmented implementation under conditions of structural asymmetry, highlighting the difficulty of translating strategic ambition into operational capability. The findings suggest that AI is not enhancing existing doctrines but is reconfiguring the underlying architecture ofwarfare, particularly in terms of decision-making authority, command structures and force integration. This transformation generates divergent pathways of military adaptation and raises critical questions about how asymmetric actors adjust under condicitons of technological imbalance For Taiwan, this shift imposes growing structural pressure on its asymmetric defense strategy and raises urgent questions about future adaptation under conditions of technological disparity.