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The US Military Desperately Wants To Weaponize AI (technologyreview.com)

Artificial intelligence is a transformative technology, and US generals already see it as the next big weapon in their arsenal. From a report: War-machine learning: Michael Griffin, Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, signaled how keen the military is to make use of AI at the Future of War 2018 conference held in Washington, DC, yesterday. Saber rattling: "There might be an artificial intelligence arms race, but we're not yet in it," Griffin said. In reference to China and Russia, he added, "I think our adversaries -- and they are our adversaries -- understand very well the possible future utility of machine learning, and I think it's time we did as well."

9 of 179 comments (clear)

  1. john connor by ganjadude · · Score: 4, Funny

    where is he when we need him?

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  2. stupid headline by cascadingstylesheet · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I knew even before I looked that I would find reasoned discussion of the need to deal with enemy capabilities, not "desperately wants to weaponize".

    Sigh ...

    1. Re:stupid headline by myth24601 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I take most issue with the use of the term "desperately" when there doesn't seem to be any hint of desperation. That term was put in to put bias in the mind of the reader against the military.

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  3. Oh come on by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There is not a thing the US military does not want to weaponize. It's what they do.

    The rationale is just there to clothe the thing a bit, the gist is always the same. "Can we weaponize this?" And yes, yes they did, including boring old business machinery mounted in trucks for battlefield use back in the 50s.

    Doesn't make the headline less superfluous though. This state of affairs is a given.

  4. Yes by NotT-2000+ · · Score: 4, Funny

    Tell me more about this John Connor you speak of.

  5. Re:Defense department needs enemies by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

    America has overwhelming military superiority today. But what about a decade from now? China is investing heavily in AI, and doing so without the moral hand wringing occurring in the West.

    We need to invest in AI, and stop wasting money on manned weapons like the F-35 and CVNs. We also need to prepare diplomatically for living in a world of military parity. China wants all the rocks in the South China Sea. Should we be willing to go to war to stop them? I don't think so.

  6. They used mercenaries by rsilvergun · · Score: 4, Insightful

    which is why nobody cared. We have a mercenary army too now. It's run by Betsy DeVos' husband. And neither of us know how many have been killed off the books.

    But even if we ignore that our government learned from 'Nam. How much coverage of dead Americans overseas have you seen? A: Almost none. They used to take pictures and run video whenever their coffin's came off the plane. That's not allowed anymore.

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  7. Dr. Strangelove FTW by PvtVoid · · Score: 5, Funny

    Muffley: But this is absolute madness, Ambassador. Why on earth would you build such a thing?

    Russian Ambassador: There were those of us who fought against this. But in the end, we could not keep up with the expense involved in the arms race, the space race, and the peace race. And at the same time, our people grumbled for more nylons and washing machines. Our Doomsday scheme cost us just a small fraction of what we'd been spending on defense in a single year. But the deciding factor was when we learned that your country was working along similar lines, and we were afraid of a Doomsday gap.

    Muffley: This is preposterous! I've never approved of anything like that!

    Russian Ambassador: Our source was the New York Times.

  8. Say... That's a nice bike... by NotT-2000+ · · Score: 4, Funny

    Do you have a photograph of John? Just need to ask him a few questions.

    Thanks for your cooperation.