DARPA WANTS TO LEAD “THIRD WAVE” OF WEAPONIZED AI

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has put out a new contract call to speed advances in Artificial Intelligence Exploration.

DARPA specifically wants to advance algorithmic processing within military artificial intelligence projects, according to the government and tech conduit web platform Nextgov.

“The pace of discovery in AI science and technology is accelerating worldwide,” according to the program’s announcement. “AIE will enable DARPA to fund pioneering AI research to discover new areas where R&D programs awarded through this new approach may be able to advance the state of the art.”

The project seeks to back “high risk, high reward” AI projects preferably leading to rapid prototype development. The AIE’s technologies will largely be tied to the Department of Defense’s national security priorities.

The AIE program is focused on putting machine learning algorithms into data processing chains that can calculate both accuracy and uncertainty in their output findings, said Bryan Jacobs, a program manager at DARPA:

“Accurately estimating, predicting, and extrapolating information from multiple combined sensors and subsystems are all key to advancing AI performance—and in deriving and delivering reliable, actionable intelligence for military operations.”

AI is one of the most intense areas of defense development spending, not only for the U.S. military, but for China and Europe as well.

Many say it’s another example of technology innovations being pursued in ways that are highly unlikely to benefit humanity as a whole, while world organizations and alliances do little to de-escalate or focus resources on projects promoting prosperity, peace and human dignity.

The Trends Journal has been covering the militarization of AI and robotics in many stories.  Some touchstone articles include: 

• “WAR, PROFIT AND TRANSHUMANISM: THE QUEST FOR THE ‘SECOND QUANTUM REVOLUTION’” (15 Mar 2022)
• “THE FUTURE: MORE TECH NIGHTMARE THAN NIRVANA?” 20 Apr 2021)
• “A SHORT PATH FROM COVID VAX TECH TO GENETIC WEAPONS” (24 Aug 2021) 
• “CHINA CHALLENGING U.S. HI-TECH DOMINANCE” (13 Jul 2021)
• “‘SPACE CHIEF’S’ VISION OF FUTURE WARS” (4 May 2021)
• “ARMY DEVELOPING WAR MACHINE ‘FLESH’ ROBOTS” (27 Apr 2021)

The full Nextgov article can be read here.