Pentagon Considers Using AI-Controlled Drones and Robots in Combat
takyon writes:
Pentagon considers using AI-controlled drones and robots in combat
The Pentagon is already studying combat scenarios where AI would be allowed to act on its own accord based on orders that a human issued. Wired has an example of such a drill that took place near Seattle last August.
Several dozen military drones and tank-like robots were deployed with a simple mission. Find terrorists suspected of hiding among several buildings. The number of robots involved made it impossible for a human operator to keep an eye on all of them. As a result, they were given instructions to find and eliminate enemy combatants when necessary.
Run by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the drill involved radio transmitters that the robots used to simulate interactions with hostile entities rather than actual weapons.
The drones and the robots were about the size of a large backpack, and all had an overall objective. The robots had access to AI algorithms to devise plans of attack. Some of the robots surrounded buildings; others carried out surveillance. Some identified beacons designating enemy combatants, and others were destroyed by simulated explosives.
[...] The Wired report explains there's increasing interest at the Pentagon for giving autonomous weapons a degree of liberty at executing orders. A human would still make high-level decisions, but AI could adapt to the situation on the ground better and faster than humans. Wired also points out that a report from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) recommended this May that the US resist calls for an international ban on developing autonomous weapons.
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