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Project Maven Brings AI To the Fight Against ISIS (thebulletin.org)
Dog of the South writes: When the Pentagon -- famous for its painful procurement process and its penchant for producing tech systems that are obsolete before they're fielded -- decided to develop and deploy artificial intelligence to a combat zone within just six months, the idea sounded like a failure waiting to happen. Remarkably, Project Maven has met its goals and won rave reviews -- and may have changed the Pentagon's whole approach to tech innovation. But is the Defense Department ready for the enormous challenges that lie at the intersection of military power and artificial intelligence?
The project "focuses on analysis of full-motion video data from tactical aerial drone platforms," according to Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists , which reports that the Pentagon has already spent "tens of billions of dollars" developing them.
"A single drone with these sensors produces many terabytes of data every day. Before AI was incorporated into analysis of this data, it took a team of analysts working 24 hours a day to exploit only a fraction of one drone's sensor data."
The project "focuses on analysis of full-motion video data from tactical aerial drone platforms," according to Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists , which reports that the Pentagon has already spent "tens of billions of dollars" developing them.
"A single drone with these sensors produces many terabytes of data every day. Before AI was incorporated into analysis of this data, it took a team of analysts working 24 hours a day to exploit only a fraction of one drone's sensor data."
a multipage pom file detailing targets using the org.maven:offensive-tools:2.2 plugin then execute mvn fight:terrorism -DterroristGroup=isis
It's the Federal Rules of Procurement. They're designed for buying either large bulk purchases of commodity items or securing expensive contracts like a new fighter or tanks. Computer-related work outside of embedded systems is almost always too agile, even under a more waterfall release schedule, for the extremely brittle and rigid law.
This technology sounds like something the NSA might like to borrow. Or perhaps the quick roll out indicates that it was existing technology that was borrowed from the NSA.
You live and learn, or you don't learn much.
Last time I used Maven, all it could do was manage my java libraries.
The Internet King? I wonder if he could provide faster nudity.
But is the Defense Department ready for the enormous challenges that lie at the intersection of military power and artificial intelligence?
Nobody is ready. The paradigm change is even bigger than the one generated by the introduction of air power and armored vehicles. Nobody can predict exactly which best practices will in the end be revealed as the most effective. Will politicians be unable to put a feet on the streets because swarms of flying robotic explosive cockroaches guided by AI will attack them with lethal intentions? Will the whole human army have to be disbanded like outdated crossbow soldiers, or will a mixed force be most effective?
Those questions and many others will depend on the pace of advancement of technology and economics. But I fear that we are ready for living in interesting times.
Rome taught me patience and assiduous application to detail. Virtues which temper the boldness of great, general views.
Okay, we know it's all AI and neural networkish but WHAT DOES IT DO and since that question isn't answered in the article or in the summary why am I supposed to care about it? How about including a "rave review" that mentions ANY function it has. What is it anyway? A program? I'm guessing it points out instances of trained faces in surveillance software. But maybe it auto-follows a vehicle across disparate surveillance platforms. Or it allows more accuracy. Or it auto checks that no civilians are probably there before a drone execution. Or something else. Or is actually a hardware package.
This summary and article are fluff and utterly devoid of meaningful information. So who paid for what company's stock to go up, and who at Slashdot or Dice got the money?
If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
The fight against the Islamic State is largely won, thanks to the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the Iraqi government (plus various militias), and Assad's Syrian government. Raqqa, Deir Ez-Zor and Mosul have all been liberated from the Islamic State, and what little territory remains is split into shrinking, isolated enclaves.
The Islamic State may live on for a while yet as an international terrorist organization like Al-Qaeda, especially since so many worldwide jihadi terrorist groups have pledged allegiance to it, but without territory it lacks one of the prerequisites to be regarded as a "legitimate" caliphate by Muslims worldwide, which makes it considerably less dangerous and less likely to inspire acts of jihad in the future.
Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/
But those details don't matter in larger picture. By bringing AI into it, it signals the willingness of the US to use dangerous tech that should be kept out into even a petty conflict, justifying an AI arms race worldwide. Bad move!
-The art of programming is the pursuit of absolute simplicity.
And Russia is on the same track:
https://www.rt.com/news/414107...
Damn it.
-The art of programming is the pursuit of absolute simplicity.
Why enter another civil war on the side of the terrorists?
Think of the news stories. The US backed and armed rebel forces need air support to win against the actual Syrian government..
The AI just gets given a free fire zone and the rebel forces advance and can be resupplied under US AI drone cover.
The actual Syrian government then has to deal with more territory lost to terrorists who now have AI air cover.
Stop the AI drone cover and the terrorists have no secure supply lines and support.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Such an article to read on Christmas Eve.
Sam Fisher could probably tell you something about it.
> The fight against the Islamic State is largely won, thanks to the Russian aerospace forces.
There, fixed it for you.
This sounds like just another desperate attempt by the Pentagon to remain relevant in Syria where Russia has already done the overwhelming bulk of what needed to be done to destroy ISIS.
Thanks to Putin's strategy in Syria, ISIS has been contained. The best thing the Pentagon can do now is, instead of screwing around with big data toys, just stop funnelling covert weapons to ISIS and their affiliates.
The project brings AI to automated killing machines. In this instance it's being used against ISIS.
A book that everyone should read is "Artificial Intelligence for Dummies" by John Paul Mueller and Luca Massaron. Preorder your copy today.
You, good sir, are right on the money. Your powers of observation are honed and sharp, dare I say reflective, like a diamond. For you are the one that sees the coming of the Dutch supremacy. It has been foretold by many prophets before us. Oh yes, I too, am a Truth-Seer. Let us bring potent medicine and heal the world. The time of the Golden Child is upon us.
By bringing AI into it, it signals the willingness of the US to use dangerous tech that should be kept out into even a petty conflict, justifying an AI arms race worldwide. Bad move!
On the contrary, it was an excellent move. The use of AI plays to our strengths as a nation, taking advantage of the fact that the terrorists lack the intelligence, education and the resources necessary to develop and use this technology against us. Furthermore, the use of AI has now proven itself to be an effective tool in the fight against low tech non-state enemies. Personally, I rather like the idea that terrorists in Syria, Afghanistan, Iran and elsewhere are pursued mercilessly by the persistent attack borne of the alien intelligence found in the machine. It runs 24/7/365, never tiring and always learning. Perhaps being beaten occasionally at first but coming back and back, stronger each time, until the enemy despairs and loses all hope of victory. Eventually the human terrorists will grow weary of losing to machines that never quit, have no ego and beat them time and again. In the end, they will recognize the utter futility of their resistance and submit to our power or die. It's the perfect response to their cowardly and duplicitous attacks on our civilization, to turn the power of computing borne of that civilization against them while we continue to enjoy the fruits and take pleasure in their misery.