DEFENSE R&D OUTLOOK
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TRUSTED TEAMMATES WANTED By Craig Collins
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he pressure is on. In the summer of 2017, the Chinese government released a strategy detailing its plan to take the lead in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030. Weeks later, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his country’s pursuit of AI technologies, proclaiming, “Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world.” The Department of Defense (DOD), a leader in researching and developing AI technology, countered swiftly to strengthen and streamline its efforts to define the future of AI. DOD’s 2019 budget authorization established a Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) to “coordinate the efforts of the Department to develop, mature, and transition artificial intelligence technologies into operational use,” and a National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, composed in part by executives from major American technology firms, to advise the JAIC on the national security implications of advances and trends in AI and related technologies. The DOD has undertaken a comprehensive assessment of defense-relevant AI technologies. In early 2019, the Pentagon released a brief summary of its classified Artificial Intelligence Strategy, a vision for capitalizing on the “opportunity to improve support for and protection of U.S. service members, safeguard our citizens, defend our allies and partners, and improve the affordability and speed of our operations.” The strategy, which identifies the JAIC as its focal point, consists of five key approaches: • delivering AI-enabled capabilities that address key missions; • scaling AI’s impact across DOD through a common foundation that enables decentralized development and experimentation; • cultivating a leading AI workforce; • engaging with commercial, academic, and international allies and partners; and • leading in military ethics and AI safety. The AI Strategy summary also mentions the importance of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), a government entity established in 2016 to fast-track the adoption of commercial technology in the military to strengthen national security. Much of the nation’s AI advances occur first in the private sector, and the DIU works with companies to prototype commercial solutions to military problems. U.S. companies have been at the leading edge in developing and fielding artificial intelligence: the ability of machines to do things that normally require human intelligence. Early “expert systems,” based on specific rules and bodies of knowledge, are still useful in some forms today, such as tax preparation software.
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American companies have also led the development of “second wave” AI applications with machine learning capabilities – algorithms that help a computer learn from experience. These second-wave systems are trained to recognize patterns in large pools of data and make decisions based on statistical probabilities. Second-wave applications abound in today’s world, from self-driving vehicles, facial recognition software, and route mapping applications, to personal assistants such as Google Assistant, Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortana. While many of the DOD’s recent AI-related moves are forward-looking, artificial intelligence and machine learning are already integrated into military planning and operations, with systems either fielded or under development – or both – in a variety of applications, including:
