October 27, 2017
The United States Can Be a World Leader in AI. Here's How.
The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is upon us. Artificial general intelligence—machines that could perform the full range of intellectual tasks better than humans—are still far off. But narrow AIs built to do specific tasks better than humans are proliferating. We interact with them daily, whether in the form of smartphone apps, self-driving cars or drones. Nations are already jostling for advantage. As Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month, “Whoever becomes the leader in [AI] will become the ruler of the world.” Some are more cautious. SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted a response to Putin: “Competition for AI superiority at national level [is the] most likely cause of WW3.”
The United States must grapple with how best to take advantage of this new industrial revolution. This isn’t just a question about how to harness AI’s full potential. It’s also a question about how to mitigate the risks posed by AI proliferation at home and abroad.
Read the full op-ed in The National Interest.
More from CNAS
-
Technology & National Security
The U.S.-Iran Stalemate Explained: How Drones and AI Are Changing WarBetween cheap-to-produce drones and artificial intelligence, the future of warfare may already be here. Paul Scharre, former US Army Ranger and executive vice president of the...
By Paul Scharre
-
Technology & National Security
Mr. Xi Goes to Washington: An Opportunity for U.S.-China AI AssuranceArtificial intelligence is advancing too rapidly, and its ramifications too consequential, for either country to believe that competition alone is a strategy....
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan
-
Technology & National Security
CNAS Insights | U.S.-China AI Agreements Need Verification, Not TrustThe upcoming Trump-Xi summit is likely to disappoint the leaders of top AI labs that have recently called for urgent, coordinated pacing of frontier AI progress. While agreeme...
By Ruby Scanlon & Janet Egan
-
Technology & National Security
U.S. & China AI Competition Raises Questions About Risk and OversightThe United States and China are moving quickly to develop increasingly powerful artificial intelligence systems, and Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan (Ret.), former director of the Pent...
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan