White House pushes adoption of AI in agencies for military intelligence purpose

The White House, currently under the Biden administration is pushing the US military and intelligence agencies to make use of AI models. The emphasis lies on staying ahead of the competitor China, following the recent national security memorandum. 

According to a Bloomberg report , the directive by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan focuses on the crucial need to safely deploy AI technologies to make the US dominant in the field.

Sullivan stated during his speech at the National War College that AI advancement poses risks as competitor nations are using it to exceed American positions. Specifically in areas of space and underwater operations. He emphasized the need to integrate AI technology in these areas.

Last year, a directive from the Defense Department from last year urged the government to develop weapon systems that allow commanders to practice the right levels of “human judgment over the use of force.” 

While over 50 countries have supported the US efforts to enable responsible military use of autonomous weapons and AI, certain groups, such as the Stop Killer Robots campaign, consider these efforts “feeble.” 

Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, calls for countries to ban lethal autonomous weapons by the year 2026. However, the US is not expected to be a part of this agreement. 

According to the administration official, the community leading the US national security is already aware of the safety concerns regarding autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence on battlefields. The official added that the AI systems must pass through accreditation processes, and challenges regarding their adoption can be expected.

Military AI is a “double-edged sword”

The United States is already making use of artificial intelligence to identify targets as part of an algorithmic warfare development program. Along with that, the US continues to develop a wide range of other defense projects that utilize AI. 

Those in favor of such systems say that AI targeting helps reduce time and effort from analysts, and allows the US military to strike a larger number of targets in a short time. 

However, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley described Military AI as a double-edged sword in a recent speech at the Vanderbilt University Institute of National Security. He mentioned that this prospect opens a “Pandora’s box.” Further, he added that future warfare may revolve around robotics and AI. 

The White House mentioned in the memo that “AI is moving too fast, and is too complex, for us to rely exclusively on a small cohort of large firms.” The memo also comes with instructions for procuring and using AI technologies by agencies that aren’t involved in matters of national security.