DARPA’s AI-powered jet fight will be held virtually due to COVID-19

An upcoming event to display and test AI-powered jet fighters will now be held virtually due to COVID-19.

“We are still excited to see how the AI algorithms perform against each other as well as a Weapons School-trained human and hope that fighter pilots from across the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as military leaders and members of the AI tech community will register and watch online,” said Col. Dan Javorsek, program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technology...

Government

US Department of Defense adopts ethical principles for AI use

The US Department of Defense (DoD) has formally adopted a set of principles to use artificial intelligence (AI) for military use.

In October 2019, the recommendations for use of the technology were provided to Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper by the Defense Innovation Board. These recommendations came after 15 months of consultation with leading AI specialists in several industries like the government, academia, commercial, and the public.

The move aligns with...

26 February 2020 | Ethics

Palantir took over Project Maven defense contract after Google backed out

palantir google project maven backlash military ai drone uav

Surveillance firm Palantir took up a Pentagon defense contract known as Project Maven after Google dropped out due to backlash.

Project Maven is a Pentagon initiative aiming to use AI technologies for deploying and monitoring unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Naturally, Google’s involvement with the initiative received plenty of backlash both internally and externally. At least a dozen employees quit Google while many others threatened to walk out if the firm continued...

12 December 2019 | Drones

Report: UK leads AI developments in Europe, Iran in Middle-East

iran uk ai artificial intelligence report research study rankings

The latest Scimago Institutions Rankings (SIR) indicates the UK is leading AI developments in Europe while Iran is leading in the Middle-East.

SIR has ranked global research and education institutions since 2009. The ranking is based on their performance and the number of articles they’ve published in highly-regarded publications.

In the field of AI, the UK ranks number one in Europe and fourth globally. Iran ranks number one in the Middle-East and is ninth overall...

11 November 2019 | Europe

Pentagon is ‘falling behind’ in military AI, claims former NSWC chief

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The former head of US Naval Special Warfield Command (NSWC) has warned the Pentagon is falling behind adversaries in military AI developments.

Speaking on Tuesday, Rear Adm. Brian Losey said AI is able to provide tactical guidance as well as anticipate enemy actions and mitigate threats. Adversaries with such technology will have a significant advantage.

Losey is retired from the military but is now a partner at San Diego-based Shield AI.

Shield AI specialises...

23 October 2019 | Government

Microsoft chief Brad Smith warns that killer robots are ‘unstoppable’

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Microsoft chief Brad Smith issued a warning over the weekend that killer robots are ‘unstoppable’ and a new digital Geneva Convention is required.

Most sci-fi fans will think of Terminator when they hear of killer robots. In the classic film series, a rogue military AI called Skynet gained self-awareness after spreading to millions of servers around the world. Concluding that humans would attempt to shut it down, Skynet sought to exterminate all of mankind in the interest of...

23 September 2019 | Ethics

Report: Companies like Amazon and Microsoft are ‘putting world at risk’ of killer AI

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A survey of major players within the industry concludes that leading tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft are putting the world ‘at risk’ of killer AI.

PAX, a Dutch NGO, ranked 50 firms based on three criteria:

If technology they’re developing could be used for killer AI.Their involvement with military projects.If they’ve committed to not being involved with military applications in the future.

Microsoft and Amazon are named among the world's ‘highest...

| Amazon

Putin outlines Russia’s national AI strategy priorities

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered the best insight yet at what shape the country’s AI strategy will take.

Putin ordered his government apparatus on February 27th to formulate a national artificial intelligence strategy by June 25th. With that date quickly approaching, the world is waiting to see Russia’s AI plans.

Back in September 2017, Putin famously said the nation which leads in AI “will become the ruler of the world.” Understandably, Putin’s...

31 May 2019 | Government

EU AI Expert Group: Ethical risks are ‘unimaginable’

The EU Commission’s AI expert group has published its assessment of the rapidly-advancing technology and warned it has “unimaginable” ethical risks.

Some of the highlighted risks includes lethal autonomous systems, tracking individuals, and ‘scoring’ people in society.

On the subject of lethal autonomous systems, the experts warn machines with cognitive skills could “decide whom, when and where to fight without human intervention”.

When it comes...

| Ethics

Report: 94 percent of IT leaders want greater focus on AI ethics

A study from SnapLogic has found that 94 percent of IT decision makers across the UK and US want a greater focus on ethical AI development.

Bias in algorithms continues to be a problem and is among the biggest barriers to societal adoption. Facial recognition algorithms, for example, have been found to be far less accurate for some parts of society than others.

Without addressing these issues, we’re in danger of automating problems such as racial profiling. Public...

26 March 2019 | Ethics