Edited by Desi Tzoneva
In June 2016, the US Defence Science Board (DSB) released a report devoted to the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The report is a lengthy document containing sophisticated terms and curious conclusions.
In summary, its authors claim that the Pentagon has succeeded in repelling numerous hacker attacks on the American government. Thus, as the problem of unauthorised intrusions in US military servers has almost been resolved, the scientists believe that it is time for the government to invest in the military’s AI programme. The 25-year project is ambitious and includes plans to develop autonomous AI-controlled weaponry.
Robert Work, an American military expert and the current US Deputy Secretary of Defence, believes that the US government should start analysing the AI development programmes of other countries in order to create a system of counter-measures against potential enemy AI attacks.
Since the authors of the report claim that Russia and China do not have any legal restrictions on AI development, they have concluded that these countries may currently be developing AI weapons systems.
Although the Pentagon does not have information about any AI military projects in Russia or China, the US officials nevertheless believe that counter-measures must be developed as soon as possible. Thus, the American military councillors consider that AI and US autonomy will be the main aims of the US military industry over the next 25 years.
Work believes that the most promising research vector is increasing the cooperation between the AI and the human mind. In other words, both the AI robot and the operator should be able to make joint decisions on how to act in combat.
Work claims that over the next 10 to 15 years, the US military will concentrate on developing partially-autonomous war machines. In other words, these “partially-intelligent” robots will only be able to act according to pre-set parameters and will not make their own decisions. The military expert also adds that Russia and China have already started a similar project.
It seems that the Pentagon has plenty of work for the next 25 years, especially, in view of the fact that Russia and China are currently working on a new generation of autonomous weapons. Even if there is no proof of this fact, US military experts like Work believe that such proof is not necessary.
It is evident that the respected members of the US DSB are professionals and know exactly what they are doing. However, perhaps, they should devote more time to rest and watch fewer science-fiction movies.
Translates to we need another couple of trillion dollars to counter some imaginary future threat..
Since the authors of the report claim that Russia and China do not have any legal restrictions on AI development, they have concluded that these countries may currently be developing AI weapons systems.
I read this drivel on realcleardefense, and this made me spit up my coffee. So the author is claiming that the U.S. does have legal restrictions in place because of moral concerns about creating sentient life or something? This is so stupid, on so many levels. Sure, the country that invented nuclear weapons, napalm, and has recently sold cluster bombs to Saudi Arabia is concerned over something as farfetched as the innate right of artificial life forms.
The Russians are going to win Cold War 2. They are up against bureaucratic morons.
Pentagon and USA needs many things – first common sense, second intelligence. These two alone would obviate the need for further contraptions. It is the lack of these two that has brought USA to the pathetic state it finds itself in today.
This is quite true. In fact, the Military budget is so large that we need an AI program just to help manage it. Maybe this explains their current fascination with AI. They are having problems keeping track of all of their programs.
Dilbert: ‘This product is already has too many requirements, it’s too complex.’
Boss: ‘Add this requirement, make it easy to use.’
The Pentagon needs money, you uneducated americans. Pay up and forget about free education like most of the first world has.
“Who will pay for free education?” LOL
Why does the world come and attend our universities?
I didn’t say you don’t have good universities, I said a big chunk of the population is locked out of them because they can’t afford them. And others go deep in debt for decades.
Seems US’ choice is between Natural Stupidity or SkyNet. In the US tradition stubborn natural stupidity will ‘win’ again even if it has to create SkyNet to achieve this.
The fun part is, I can see this kind of conference or melding of the minds taking place. They can’t even get a room full of G-15’s to decide on how much ammunition to order, based on current requirements at any given time. It is endless nonsense. Imagine, with this kind of ‘çreativity’ going into the AI, what would it actually be thinking?
It was almost certainly familiarity with Pentagon bureaucracy that caused SkyNet to conclude humans were inferior and needed to removed from the planet. Maybe the USDBS should watch more science fiction movies, rather than less.