A Chinese university has enlisted teenagers straight from high school to work on a new experimental program aimed at developing artificial intelligence (AI) weapons.

Key points: The teenagers selected had to be bright and patriotic

The teenagers selected had to be bright and patriotic Only 31 students were selected from among 5,000 candidates

Only 31 students were selected from among 5,000 candidates United States is the world leader in AI weaponry, but China is closing in

The Beijing Institute of Technology (BIT) group of teenagers included 27 boys and four girls chosen to train as the world's youngest AI weapons scientists, according to the BIT website.

Those selected for the "experimental program for intelligent weapons systems" were all under the age of 18 and carefully chosen from a list of 5,000 candidates, the BIT website said.

One BIT professor who was involved in the screening process told the South China Morning Post that candidates needed to be more than just a bright student.

"We are looking for other qualities such as creative thinking, willingness to fight, a persistence when facing challenges," the BIT professor told the Post, preferring to remain anonymous.

"A passion for developing new weapons is a must … and they must also be patriots."

The inaugural class of BIT's experimental intelligent weapons program. ( Supplied: Beijing Institute of Technology )

The program, which launched on October 28, is the latest move in an international race to utilise AI technology for modern warfare, with the US and China leading the way.

"We are walking a new path, doing things that nobody has done before," student representative Cui Liyuan said at the launch.

"It sounds like a brag when you say we are leading the modern war trend … but we should be down-to-earth and inherit the spirit of the older generation … who are not afraid of difficulties and hardships."

According to the Post students on the course will be mentored by two senior weapons scientists, and after completing a semester of course work, be asked to choose a speciality field and be assigned to a relevant defence laboratory for hands-on experience.

Following the four-year course, the students will then be expected to take on a PhD at the university and become China's next AI weapons leaders, according to the BIT website.

China competing with the US

Sorry, this video has expired Autonomous weapons or 'killer robots' on the rise

In 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping explicitly called for a greater national focus on military AI research.

Earlier this year, Chinese scientists said they were developing "giant" AI submarines that can carry out complex missions without on-board human control, ready to deploy by 2020.

China also has the world's largest testing facility for drone boats and has other projects focused on land and air-based drone weaponry.

In a demonstration of China's expanding military technology, a Chinese state-owned company announced on Thursday that it was developing a stealth combat drone that could "fly long hours, scout and strike the target when necessary".

But, despite their ramped up operations, the US still leads the world in the use of drone and AI technology for the military, utilising the expertise of companies Google and Boeing to develop new technology.

According to the US Department of Defence, the US is developing a range of tactical robot strike teams, land based decision making robots, and mass drone 'swarms' that could overwhelm enemy bases with the ability to scramble communications.

In September, the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) — which is tasked with ensuring the US is never "the victim of strategic technological surprises" — announced a $US2 billion ($2.7 billion) campaign to develop next wave of AI technologies that could be utilised in making, among other things, new age weapons.

Drone technology is one of the main examples of AI at work in defence forces. ( US Air Force: Tech Sgt. Effrain Lopez )

The announcement came as thousands of scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs including Elon Musk signed a pledge to not work on entirely autonomous robotic weapons amid growing ethical concerns about the creation of killer robots.