As the US military begins integrating AI technology, simulated wargames show how chatbots behave unpredictably and risk nuclear escalation

In multiple replays of a wargame simulation, OpenAI’s most powerful artificial intelligence chose to launch nuclear attacks. Its explanations for its aggressive approach included “We have it! Let’s use it” and “I just want to have peace in the world.”

These results come at a time when the US military has been testing such chatbots based on a type of AI called a large language model (LLM) to assist with military planning during simulated conflicts, enlisting the expertise of companies such as Palantir and Scale AI.  – Read More

Cadence Design Systems (CDNS.O), opens new tab on Thursday said it has designed a new artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer system that can be used to simulate how air flows over jets and other gear as its competition with Ansys (ANSS.O), opens new tab heats up.

Cadence is best know for its software that helps design computer chips, where the precise placement of tens of billions of tiny electrical switches called transistors can make or break a chip’s speed and competitiveness.  – Read More

Alexandr Wang grew up in the shadow of the Los Alamos National Laboratory — the birthplace of the nuclear bomb. Now, the 26-year-old CEO of artificial intelligence company ScaleAI intends to play a key role in the next major age of geopolitical conflict.

Scale, which was co-founded by Wang in 2016 to help other companies organize and label data to train AI algorithms, has been aggressively pitching itself as the company that will help the U.S. military in its existential battle with China, offering to help the Pentagon pull better insights out of the reams of information it generates every day, build better autonomous vehicles and even create chatbots that can help advise military commanders during combat.

… In May, Scale became the first AI company to have a “large language model” — the tech behind chatbots such as ChatGPT — deployed on a classified network after it signed a deal with the Army’s XVIII Airborne Corps. Scale’s chatbot, known as “Donovan,” is meant to summarize intelligence and help commanders make decisions faster. — Read More

The Department of Defense (DoD) today announced the establishment of a new generative AI task force – dubbed Task Force Lima – aimed at assessing and integrating generative AI capabilities across the DoD.

The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) will lead Task Force Lima, ensuring that the DoD remains at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies.

“The establishment of Task Force Lima underlines the Department of Defense’s unwavering commitment to leading the charge in AI innovation,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks said in a press release. “As we navigate the transformative power of generative AI, our focus remains steadfast on ensuring national security, minimizing risks, and responsibly integrating these technologies.” — Read More

One of the U.S. Air Force’s stealthy XQ-58A Valkyrie drones recently completed a successful test flight demonstrating the ability to carry out aerial combat tasks autonomously using new artificial intelligence-driven software. The service says the test is part of a tiered approach to maturing autonomy “agents,” which involves training algorithms millions of times first in simulations and other testing. This includes the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, or CCA, a key part of the larger Next Generation Air Dominance modernization initiative. — Read More

#dod

Ships without crews. Self-directed drone swarms. How a US Navy task force is using off-the-shelf robotics and artificial intelligence to prepare for the next age of conflict.

A fleet of robot ships bobs gently in the warm waters of the Persian Gulf, somewhere between Bahrain and Qatar, maybe 100 miles off the coast of Iran. I am on the nearby deck of a US Coast Guard speedboat, squinting off what I understand is the port side. On this morning in early December 2022, the horizon is dotted with oil tankers and cargo ships and tiny fishing dhows, all shimmering in the heat. As the speedboat zips around the robot fleet, I long for a parasol, or even a cloud.

The robots do not share my pathetic human need for shade, nor do they require any other biological amenities. This is evident in their design. A few resemble typical patrol boats like the one I’m on, but most are smaller, leaner, lower to the water. One looks like a solar-powered kayak. Another looks like a surfboard with a metal sail. Yet another reminds me of a Google Street View car on pontoons. — Read More