U.S. Congress releases report on Artificial Intelligence and National Security 2019
On November 21, 2019, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a research report entitled “Artificial Intelligence and National Security” to discuss issues related to military artificial intelligence. CRS belongs to the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress. It is one of the think tanks of the United States Congress and a professional research institution that supports Congress ’legislation. It is composed of experts and scholars in various academic fields and provides references for members of Congress Or research, as well as specific bill analysis and evaluation services, as required by Congressional committees. It also conducts in-depth research on various major issues in advance and publishes relevant reports from time to time.
Research Background
With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence on a global scale, the integration of artificial intelligence technology with economic and social fields is accelerating, a new wave of technological revolution is coming, and human beings are entering the “intelligent era” driven by artificial intelligence. The concept of artificial intelligence was formally presented at the Dartmouth Conference in the United States in 1956. Since then, artificial intelligence has begun its development course that has reached more than 60 years, and during this period it has experienced three significant development waves. Currently, under the influence of various factors such as data, algorithms, and computing power, the artificial intelligence technology represented by deep learning is growing rapidly, business models are gradually enriching, emerging business types are constantly emerging, and industry applications are continuously expanding, which has drawn wide attention from all walks of life Artificial intelligence has ushered in the third wave of development, attracting the attention of business investors, research scholars, policy makers and the international community.
Countries attach great importance to the important role of artificial intelligence in economic and social development and national security, and are rushing into the field of artificial intelligence to seize future development opportunities. On the one hand, speed up the introduction of national strategies and policies for artificial intelligence. In particular, we will increase policy preferences in the areas of cutting-edge technologies for artificial intelligence strategy, key common technologies, and engineering application technologies. At the same time, we will focus our efforts on overcoming a number of major application issues in the areas of manufacturing, transportation, finance, medical care, and public management. On the other hand, we pay attention to the economic and social impact of artificial intelligence and promulgate relevant governance rules. Up to now, major global economies such as the United States, the European Union, Japan, and Singapore have issued guidelines on artificial intelligence ethics or governance through government, industry associations, or corporate organizations, hoping to achieve sustainable development of artificial intelligence through self-regulation. With the continuous expansion of artificial intelligence applications, new economic and social issues have also arisen, including privacy protection, algorithm discrimination, employment shock, and national security. These are issues that are universally faced globally and are closely related to the healthy development of the industry. Among them, the national security issues that artificial intelligence may bring have caused widespread discussion and attention.
US Congressional Concerns
The U.S. Congress discussed the following questions in successive 2017 and 2018 hearings: What military types can artificial intelligence be applied to? What are the advantages and risks of using artificial intelligence for military applications? How will artificial intelligence change war and how will it affect the military layout of US competitors? In response, some US lawmakers have called for the regulation of artificial intelligence applications in the military field. At present, the U.S. Department of Defense has taken a number of measures accordingly: First, the establishment of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), which aims to develop artificial intelligence technology and explore operable applications of artificial intelligence; second, it releases a strategic roadmap for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. Maps, and the Department of Defense ’s guidelines for applying ethical and legal artificial intelligence; the third is to establish a National Artificial Intelligence Security Council to conduct a comprehensive assessment of military-related artificial intelligence technologies and provide suggestions for improving the competitiveness of the United States in the field of artificial intelligence.
The US Congress also needs to consider whether the US Department of Defense is adequately funded. Although the U.S. Department of Defense increased its budget of $ 1.72 billion for JAIC and a budget of more than $ 2 billion for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2018, some experts still believe that more funds are needed to invest in labor In the field of intelligence, to avoid insufficient innovation in US military technology.
Due to the lack of an independent entity in the United States to formulate and implement artificial intelligence security standards, and to monitor the development and use of artificial intelligence by the government, the US Congress is also considering formulating relevant policies for the application of artificial intelligence in the military field, and assessing the need for corresponding policies. To respond to the development of artificial intelligence. Previously, the United States has been considering a policy to regulate lethal automated weapons, but some experts worry that regulating automated weapons will stifle the development of other useful military and even commercial technologies. In addition, the US Congress is also concerned about the international competitive environment in the field of artificial intelligence and the dangers of other countries using artificial intelligence technology for military purposes.
Some U.S. lawmakers call for regulation of AI applications in the military
Artificial intelligence has been widely used in the U.S. military field
U.S. military artificial intelligence status
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Because artificial intelligence can analyze large data sets, artificial intelligence is expected to play a huge role in intelligence. For example, the United States is studying the integration of computer vision and machine learning algorithms into intelligence collection units that will improve drone footage and automatically identify the activities of hostile targets. In this case, artificial intelligence aims to automate the work of analysts. At present, analysts only need to spend hours to filter videos to obtain useful information, so analysts can use time to make more efficient based on relevant information. More timely decisions.
Logistics artificial intelligence will also play a role in the field of military logistics. For example, the United States Air Force is starting to use artificial intelligence for forecasting aircraft maintenance, tailoring maintenance plans to the needs of each aircraft. The specific method is to extract real-time sensor data embedded in aircraft engines and other airborne systems, and input the data into a prediction algorithm to determine when a technician needs to inspect the aircraft or replace parts.
