AI Armada: Department of Defense's Technological Expansion

0:28Welcome to the AI Chat Podcast. United States, right, the DOD, Department of Defense, they're actively evaluating the potential expansion of their drone and fleet autonomous system. So they're doing this with an eye towards incorporating AI technologies within the next two years. So this initiative originally is kind of designed to keep pace with the evolving global threats. And particularly when we're talking about this, we're looking at China. This is the big one that is frequently brought up. So Kathleen Hicks is the Deputy Secretary of Defense, and she was recently cited by the Wall Street Journal as stating that the Pentagon aims to develop AI-powered systems that are, quote, intended to be small, smart, and cheap.

1:10So Hicks is expected to disclose plans for enhancing the capabilities of the United States' existing network of drones and sensors deployed for international military surveillance. But among the options being considered are solar-powered autonomous systems described as distributed pods of self-propelled systems that could offer near real-time data. So further considerations include the potential development of autonomous networks on the ground and in outer space. So kind of focusing on logistical support and then also defense mechanisms, this is a really big area that they're currently looking at.

1:47So at this stage, it's not entirely clear what specific types of AI are going to be integrated into these drones and other surveillance assets. But regardless, Hicks remains really positive, or I mean, optimistic this is going to be successful. And Hicks's remarks provide further insights into the Department of Defense's ambitious kind of replicator programs, which Political recently reported will cost, quote, hundreds of millions of dollars. So obviously incredibly expensive. But the idea is that these are going to serve as kind of the blueprint for future rapid advancements in military technology.

2:22So I also do think it's worth noting that the US military already has like a really extensive array of autonomous systems for land, air and sea surveillance. So this is nothing like incredibly new in that regard. And I do think it's also worth saying that it, you know, it's been committed to developing AI driven weaponry for years. This is nothing new, just because all of a sudden, everyone's talking about AI, this is something that has been, you know, they're essentially their plan for a long time. So the defense Advancement Research Project Agency, which is DARPA. You hear DARPA quoted a lot, right?

2:55This is an agency under the department, really under the Defense Department, and it has been very instrumental in pioneering technologies that have had really far-reaching applications beyond just the military, but that include, you know, like GPS and autonomous vehicles. Like, they've really helped to develop a lot of different areas. And here's the one thing that I will say. I think at this point, you know, there's a lot of people that are kind of weeding out, they're discussing and they're talking about, you know, what are like the ethical implications of having AI used for military purposes?

3:27Where is that going to go? And, you know, a lot of a lot of this is, you know, talking about like at some point, if we have like humanoid robots that have AI in them, are those able to be, you know, futuristic soldiers and go and kill? And some people will be like, yeah, it's great because we don't have to send real soldiers to die. And other people are like, yeah, but like who's making the decision about that robot pulling the trigger and, you know, possibly ending a human life or, you know, injuring someone. There's so many ethical considerations here. So I think it's really a big discussion that we're going to be having.

3:56But regardless of the ethical considerations and regardless of the conversation, in my opinion, this is probably something that is on the horizon. And we need to look at, you know, what that looks like, have those discussions. It's really tricky, too, because there's, of course, the entire side of like, well, if The United States doesn't do it, then is Russia or China not going to do it? You know, our foreign adversaries, as it were, right? Would they stop just because something seems ethically questionable? You know, so there's all sorts of really tricky situations. And if we don't do something, are we going to be kind of at a disadvantage because of it?

4:32In any case, very interesting. But right now, you know, we're really focusing on kind of these autonomous surveillance systems. And that seems to be more of the focus at the moment, right? surveillance is a lot less ethically questionable. Going and gathering intel and bringing it back to your troops or headquarters to know what's going on in the space is a lot less questionable than at the actual machines that are going to be, you know, shooting and all that kind of stuff that are done AI. And so there's, of course, the, yeah, there's all sorts of things. There's like unmanned spacecraft is one thing, but an unmanned spacecraft that you program to hit a target and it goes and hits that target and maybe it misses or it hits someone else in the meantime and there's some sort of civilian casualty, but it was an AI that did it, like who's responsible, all sorts of questions that we will be inevitably working on.

5:18But all in all, a very, very interesting topic that will continue to follow, which is of course, AI in the Department of Defense AI in the military. So thank you so much for tuning into the AI chat podcast. If you liked this episode, I would love to hear your thoughts over on our Facebook group. And make sure to leave us a review wherever you listen to your podcast, it helps people find it really helps me get great guests on here. So I really do appreciate that. And I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.