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
Red LinesExecutive Summary Chinese advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems pose a serious and growing threat to U.S. national security. At least seven Chinese developers now prod...
By Daniel Remler
-
Technology & National Security
Britain Should Be Europe’s Silicon Valley. One Thing Is Stopping It.At the heart of the country’s economic struggles is a central weakness that must be fixed: risk aversion. This is not a cultural problem, as is often implied, but institutiona...
By Keegan McBride
-
Defense / Technology & National Security
AI on the Battlefield: Project Maven and the Future of War with Jack ShanahanProject Maven stands as one of the earliest and most consequential efforts to bring AI into military operations. This week, Elisa sits down with Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, former...
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan
-
Technology & National Security
Adversarial DistillationI. Introduction: The National Security Threat of Adversarial Distillation The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views artificial intelligence (AI) as central to strategic competit...
By Daniel Remler & Ben Hayum