In 2018, the U.S. Congress established the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, made up of 15 professionals in technology, security, public policy, and education. The commission has just delivered its final report to Congress and the president.
Its finding: “America is not prepared to defend or compete in the AI era,” it said.
The panel recommends the country launch the U.S. Digital Service Academy, similar to existing military academies.
Recruits would attend the academy tuition-free in exchange for five years of government service after graduation. Instead of being commissioned as military officers, graduates would go to work in the Department of Defense, National Security Agency, and other federal offices to defend against cyberattacks and strengthen the country’s cyberwarfare capabilities.
After five years, graduates could join the civilian workforce, bringing their expertise to AI’s evolving role in research and the economy.
Graduates also could enroll in the National Reserve Digital Corps, a cadre of weekend cyberwarriors that the commission suggests Congress authorize, similar to today’s National Guard.
As the current military does, the new academy would offer free education and a path to well-paid careers to young people who lack college funds and a career direction. The faculty could be drawn from experts in engineering, computer science, business, national security, and other relevant fields.
The commission also urges Congress to create a National Technology Foundation and invest billions in coming years in research into areas in which AI will be key, including advanced manufacturing, quantum computing, renewable energy, and synthetic biology.
The U.S. Digital Service Academy could graduate its first class six years after Congress creates it, said commission member Jose-Marie Griffiths, president of Dakota State University.
TRENDPOST: A bookshelf full of reports has warned the U.S. is trailing further and further behind other countries, especially China, in the creation and transfer of technologies that will define military as well as economic success in the 21st century.
Warfare this century will be increasingly shaped by digital smarts, not by the biggest piles of hardware. If the U.S. is to maintain a strong national defense, immediate investment in a cyberforce is essential. A national effort to develop a robust cyber defense will spill a range of benefits into the civilian economy.
