Image credit: Getty Images/iStockPhoto
January 14, 2020
The AI Literacy Gap Hobbling American Officialdom
Rarely is there as much agreement about the importance of an emerging technology as exists today about artificial intelligence (AI). Rightly or wrongly, a 2019 survey of 1,000 members of the general population and 300 technology sector executives found that 91 percent of tech executives and 84 percent of the public believe that AI will constitute the next revolution in technology. Along with the public, companies, universities, civil society organizations, and governments are all rushing to understand exactly what sort of impact AI will have on their respective daily operations. Most people will not be AI experts, but just as military personnel, policymakers, and intelligence analysts in previous generations needed to adapt and learn the basics of electricity and combustion engines in order to drive national security forward then, the same will be true of AI now. A renewed emphasis on AI education for those that will make key decisions about programs, funding, and adoption is essential for safe and effective U.S. adoption of AI in the national security sphere.
Within the U.S. government, there are several ongoing initiatives designed to ensure U.S. leadership in technology development and adoption. The February 2019 White House strategy on AI, for example, backed by an executive order, demonstrates broad recognition of AI’s importance. Within the Defense Department, the creation of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency grant programs on AI highlight the military’s interest in AI. Moreover, U.S. leadership in AI may be one of the few areas of bipartisan agreement on Capitol Hill at present. The congressionally authorized National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, which released its interim report in November 2019, is investigating how to ensure the United States remains the world leader in AI research and uses algorithms in a safe and effective way in multiple areas.
Read the full article in War on the Rocks.
More from CNAS
-
Artificial Intelligence and Great Power Competition, With Paul Scharre
Paul Scharre, the vice president and director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security, sits down with James M. Lindsay to discuss how artificial intelligence is r...
By Paul Scharre
-
U.S. and China Can Show World Leadership by Safeguarding Military AI
The US and China must move beyond unilateral statements and begin developing shared confidence-building measures to manage the risks of military AI competition....
By Paul Scharre
-
AI Nuclear Weapons Catastrophe Can Be Avoided
AI-enabled nuclear weapons are particularly concerning due to their civilization-destroying nature....
By Noah Greene
-
Sharper: The State of AI
The U.S. government's recent chip export controls are the latest salvo in the U.S.–China rivalry in artificial intelligence. Semiconductors are a key input for AI systems and ...
By Anna Pederson