September 27, 2018
Future of Life Institute: AI and Nuclear Weapons – Trust, Accidents, and New Risks with Paul Scharre and Mike Horowitz
In 1983, Soviet military officer Stanislav Petrov prevented what could have been a devastating nuclear war by trusting his gut instinct that the algorithm in his early-warning system wrongly sensed incoming missiles. In this case, we praise Petrov for choosing human judgment over the automated system in front of him. But what will happen as the AI algorithms deployed in the nuclear sphere become much more advanced, accurate, and difficult to understand? Will the next officer in Petrov’s position be more likely to trust the “smart” machine in front of him?
On this month’s podcast, Ariel spoke with Paul Scharre and Mike Horowitz from the Center for a New American Security about the role of automation in the nuclear sphere, and how the proliferation of AI technologies could change nuclear posturing and the effectiveness of deterrence. Paul is a former Pentagon policy official, and the author of Army of None: Autonomous Weapons in the Future of War. Mike Horowitz is professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, and the author of The Diffusion of Military Power: Causes and Consequences for International Politics.
Listen to the full conversation here.
More from CNAS
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security / National Security Law
CNAS Insights | The Case for Long-Term CISA 2015 ReauthorizationLast fall, one of the United States’ most important cyber defense laws expired. For six weeks, the private sector no longer had legal protections to share critical cyber threa...
By Carrie Cordero & Morgan Peirce
-
Commentary
Technology & National Security
Taiwan Is the Key to AI DominanceA country determined to win the defining technological race of the century can’t allow its chief rival to control the industrial base on which that race depends....
By David Feith
-
Podcast
Defense / Technology & National Security
WarTalk: Iran War with Jack ShanahanThe “love tap” White House readout. A failed convoy operation. KSA pulling overflight rights. Iran with 70% of its missile force still intact. And one F-15E shoot-down from ab...
By Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan & Jordan Schneider
-
Reports
Technology & National Security
American AI Companies Can’t Get Enough ChipsIn 2026, artificial intelligence (AI) chip production has become a binding constraint on the pace of the AI compute buildout. Demand for computing power to train and deploy ad...
By James Sanders, Janet Egan & Rory Madigan
