Experts: US should prepare for 'robotic soldiers' during future conflicts

Updated

Security experts have told lawmakers that the U.S. could soon be battling artificial intelligence, or A.I., in future conflict situations.

The discussion occurred during a U.S. House Armed Services Committee meeting on Capitol Hill Wednesday titled, "Cyber Warfare in the 21st Century: Threats, Challenges, and Opportunities."

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At one point, Texas Representative Mike Conaway asked the panelists about "...how soon it will be before robotic soldiers take the place of the fight in the kinetic world? How soon will AI supplant the need for...all these human beings to be able to defend these networks...?"

According to The Hill, two experts, Jason Healey with the Cyber Statecraft Initiative of the Atlantic Council and Peter Singer with the New America Foundation, acknowledged the likelihood of these capabilities with Singer warning that the U.S. should not fall behind its adversaries.

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Meanwhile, Healey told lawmakers, "I think that these technologies are going to aid the offense much more than it aids the defense because to defend against these kinds of attacks, you need your own super computer."

Last October, the Washington Post reported that autonomous systems equipped with A.I. are already in increased use by the U.S., Israel, and South Korea.

Although the piece points out advantages such as the ability to save human lives, there are also ambiguous areas related to potential malfunctions and chain of command, among others

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