Speaking to students back in 2017, Russian president Vladimir Putin said: “Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind. It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world.”
Whatever your view of Putin, he was right on point with this one.
While we often hear about aritfiical intelligence (AI) and how it effects citizens around the globe, whether that means mass technological unemployment, discrimination and bias in algorthims, incredible medical advancments, and commercial implementation, there is one sector that is racing full-steam ahead with research and development while at the same time flying under all of our radars: the military.
National security interests are driving AI development within the world’s most powerful militaries and governments, and it is to the detriment of other human-centered goals. This is one of the most concerning aspects of our current path of AI development, given the incredible amount of resources and money that could instead be used to improve the lives of citizens all around the globe, rather than risk them with a new type of modern warfare.
The current AI arms race that is unfolding among the world’s most capable nations is one that is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than any we have seen. With all of the current rhetoric around nuclear war, it is easy to forget about other weapons like AI. If there comes a time when a given nation achieves AI supremacy, it will have immense power that can be exerted. We are still in the initial stages of this AI arms race, and as AI continues to exponentially progress, there is bound to be incredibly powerful military technology.
