Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies promise to be the most powerful tools in generations for expanding knowledge, increasing prosperity, and enriching the human experience. The technologies will be the foundation of the innovation economy and a source of enormous power for countries that harness them. AI will fuel competition between governments and companies racing to field it. And it will be employed by nation states to pursue their strategic ambitions.
Americans have not yet seriously grappled with how profoundly the AI revolution will impact society, the economy, and national security. Recent AI breakthroughs, such as a computer defeating a human in the popular strategy game of Go,1 shocked other nations into action, but did not inspire the same response in the United States. Americans have not recognized the assertive role the government will have to play in ensuring the United States wins this innovation competition. And they have not contemplated the scale of public resources required to achieve it. Despite our private sector and university leadership in AI, the United States remains unprepared for the coming era.
The magnitude of the technological opportunity coincides with a moment of strategic vulnerability. China is a competitor possessing the might, talent, and ambition to challenge America’s technological leadership, military superiority, and its broader position in the world. AI is deepening the threat posed by cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns that Russia, China, and other state and non-state actors use to infiltrate our society, steal our data, and interfere in our democracy. Global crises exemplified in the global pandemic and climate change are expanding the definition of national security and crying out for innovative solutions. AI can help us navigate many of these challenges.
We are fortunate. The AI revolution is not a strategic surprise. We are experiencing its impact in our daily lives and can anticipate how research progress will translate into real world applications before we have to confront the full national security ramifications. This commission can warn of national security challenges and articulate the benefits, rather than explain why previous warnings were ignored and opportunities were missed. We still have a window to make the changes to build a safer and better future. Read More
Tag Archives: DoD
DIB Guide: Detecting Agile BS
Agile is a buzzword of software development, and so all DoD software development projects are, almost by default, now declared to be “agile.” The purpose of this document is to provide guidance to DoD program executives and acquisition professionals on how to detect software projects that are really using agile development versus those that are simply waterfall or spiral development in agile clothing (“agile-scrum-fall”). Read More
Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) Brief
In a first, Air Force uses AI on military jet
Defense officials touted the test as a watershed moment for a technology intensely debated in aviation and arms control communities
The Air Force allowed an artificial-intelligence algorithm to control sensor and navigation systems on a U-2 Dragon Lady spy plane in a training flight Tuesday, officials said, marking what is believed to be the first known use of AI onboard a U.S. military aircraft.
No weapons were involved, and the plane was steered by a pilot. Even so, senior defense officials touted the test as a watershed moment in the Defense Department’s attempts to incorporate AI into military aircraft, a subject that is of intense debate in aviation and arms control communities. Read More
Promoting the Use of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in Government
Artificial intelligence promises to drive the growth of the United States economy and improve the quality of life of all Americans.
On December 3, 2020, President Donald J. Trump signed the Executive Order on Promoting the Use of Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence in the Federal Government, which establishes guidance for Federal agency adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to more effectively deliver services to the American people and foster public trust in this critical technology. Read More
Artificial Intelligence for the American People
The age of artificial intelligence (AI) has arrived, and is transforming everything from healthcare to transportation to manufacturing.
America has long been the global leader in this new era of AI, and is poised to maintain this leadership going forward because of our strong innovation ecosystem. Realizing the full potential of AI for the Nation requires the combined efforts of industry, academia, and government. The Administration has been active in developing policies and implementing strategies that accelerate AI innovation in the U.S. for the benefit of the American people. These activities align with several areas of emphasis: AI for American Innovation, AI for American Industry, AI for the American Worker, and AI with American Values. This AI.gov website provides a portal for exploring these activities in more depth, and serves as a resource for those who want to learn more about how to take full advantage of the opportunities of AI. Read More
Air Force bases look to facial recognition to secure entry
Two Air Force installations recently inked deals to use facial recognition technology to verify the identities of those coming on base — a move that can increase the physical distance during security checks as the coronavirus pandemic continues.
The Air Force awarded TrueFace phase two Small Business Innovation Research contracts to install its technology at Eglin Air Force Base and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst. The company calls its system “frictionless access control,” where security personnel do not need to be present for a check, adding that it can verify a face in one to two seconds. Read More
Fighter aircraft will soon get AI pilots
But they will be wingmen, not squadron leaders
CLASSIC DOGFIGHTS, in which two pilots match wits and machines to shoot down their opponent with well-aimed gunfire, are a thing of the past. Guided missiles have seen to that, and the last recorded instance of such combat was 32 years ago, near the end of the Iran-Iraq war, when an Iranian F-4 Phantom took out an Iraqi Su-22 with its 20mm cannon.
But memory lingers, and dogfighting, even of the simulated sort in which the laws of physics are substituted by equations running inside a computer, is reckoned a good test of the aptitude of a pilot in training. And that is also true when the pilot in question is, itself, a computer program. So, when America’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an adventurous arm of the Pentagon, considered the future of air-to-air combat and the role of artificial intelligence (AI) within that future, it began with basics that Manfred von Richthofen himself might have approved of. Read More
The AI Company Helping the Pentagon Assess Disinfo Campaigns
In September, Azerbaijan and Armenia renewed fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory in the Caucasus mountains. By then, an information warfare campaign over the region had been underway for several months.
The campaign was identified using artificial intelligence technology being developed for US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), which oversees US special forces operations.
The AI system, from Primer, a company focused on the intelligence industry, identified key themes in the information campaign by analyzing thousands of public news sources. In practice, Primer’s system can analyze classified information too. Read More
Ex-Google chief: U.S. must do ‘whatever it takes’ to beat China on AI
“We want America to be inventing this stuff,” Eric Schmidt said during POLITICO’s summit on artificial intelligence. “Or at least the West.”
The U.S. needs an urgent national strategy on developing artificial intelligence technology to counter the rising competition from China, said former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, chair of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Read More
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