December 30, 2017
The Pentagon is using AI to fight ISIS but it's not quite the 'Terminator'
Conversations about the military use of artificial intelligence usually bring to mind the "Terminator" movies, where a super-intelligent AI turns evil and tries to destroy humanity. This month, the US Defense Department announced that it has indeed taken a major step toward regular use of artificial intelligence, but it's a far cry from the Terminator approach.
This December, the Pentagon revealed that it has completed its crash program to bring state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technology to America's military. Project Maven, which the DOD began funding in June, has operationally deployed its AI system to the fight against ISIS in the Middle East. This marks the first time that the military has fielded an advanced AI system using deep learning and neural networks. Its mission? Monitor the video feeds from tactical unmanned aerial vehicles -- better known as drones.
Project Maven's AI system, however, is nothing like the "Skynet" of the Terminator movies or even human intelligence. Project Maven's AI possesses only narrow intelligence, meaning it is smart at the task of monitoring drone surveillance videos and literally useless for doing anything else.
Read the full commentary in CNN.
More from CNAS
-
Transcript from U.S. AI Strategy Event: “The American AI Century: A Blueprint for Action”
Transcript
On January 10, the CNAS Technology and National Security Program hosted a major U.S. AI strategy event. We are pleased to share the transcript of the presentations and panel d...
By Robert O. Work, Paul Scharre, Martijn Rasser, Megan Lamberth, Ainikki Riikonen, Dr. Lynne Parker & Olivia Zetter
-
The AI Literacy Gap Hobbling American Officialdom
Commentary
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...
By Michael Horowitz & Lauren Kahn
-
The United States Needs a Strategy for Artificial Intelligence
Commentary
In the coming years, artificial intelligence will dramatically affect every aspect of human life. AI—the technologies that simulate intelligent behavior in machines—will chang...
By Martijn Rasser
-
America Desperately Needs AI Talent, Immigrants Included
Commentary
The United States is engaged in a global technology competition in artificial intelligence. But while the US government has shown commitment to developing AI systems that will...
By Megan Lamberth
