Written by Michael Thervil
Photo: US Department of Defense
It was reported that the U.S. Government is in the process of weaponizing Artificial Intelligence. For Defense Contractors, this can be considered a very big payday. But for the vast majority of people, the weaponization of Artificial Intelligence for military purposes or otherwise seems like a move that should be avoided at all costs. When you look at the facts of the matter, it can be said that Artificial Intelligence in its current state is not worthy of being utilized on any battlefield due to its uncanny ability to yield both false positives and solutions to problems and questions that either lack human empathy and/or simply makes no sense.
However, the U.S. Government is looking to formulate a way for AI to be weaponized anyway. When it comes to warfare, specifically the U.S. Military’s drone program, it has been both studied and reported that psychologically drone operators tend to display a decrease in empathy when it comes to taking a human life on the battlefield. For them sitting behind the desk far from the battlefield, the actual act of “combat” is compared to the liking of a video game. The same conclusion can be said of drone operators in any military around the world.
Photo by Reuters/U.S. Marine Corps
The question that’s on people’s mind is, is the advent of using Artificial Intelligence in wartime operations going to either render the same result or exacerbate an already growing issue when it comes to taking lives on the battlefield as government seek to acquire power – or in other words protect their “interest” around the world? Many people in the U.S. intelligence industry and other intelligence bases industries around the world will say that the weaponization of Artificial Intelligence will allow them to crunch a significant amount of data in seconds compared to having to utilize hard assets, in this case people, to analyze data. For them, the use of AI in this form will prevent them from suffering from information overload. But at what cost to human lives?
What are the long-term effects of when AI is fully programmed to kill humans on the battlefield? What kinds of international laws will be created and how will they be regulated. Remember, everyone does not view and adhere to the same wartime policies and doctrines such as the Geneva Convention. Moreover, one would be considered a fool not to think that AI wouldn’t be used in the private sector to accomplish the same goals. Another argument that both U.S. Government and Military officials will argue is that the weaponization of AI would prevent soldiers from becoming unnecessary casualties of war. Again, this too is a true statement. But, as we all know, there is no weapon that can be used by the military that won’t find its way into the black-market and ultimately in the hands of people in the private sector.
We leave you with these 6 words:
“Leave the genie in the bottle.”
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