Brandon Tseng, a co-founder of Shield AI, boldly declared in late September that American weaponry will never be completely autonomous that is, AI would never decide when to make a kill. He stated, “That’s not what Congress wants.” Some days later, though, Palmer Luckey, another co-founder of Anduril, took a bolder position on autonomous weapons, challenging the moral reasons against them. He brought up the analogy of landmines during a presentation, saying that AI might be able to provide more accuracy because landmines are unable to discriminate between soldiers and civilians.
Despite not arguing that AI should behave autonomously in dangerous situations, Luckey’s remarks brought attention to a developing discussion. He was talking about the risks associated with “bad AI” in the wrong hands, as his company Anduril later clarified.
Silicon Valley has always favored human judgement when making potentially fatal judgements. Co-founder of Anduril Trae Stephens has underlined how crucial it is that people take responsibility for choices using fatal force. Though he places an emphasis on responsibility, his position does not entirely dismiss AI autonomy.
The official stance of the US government is unclear. The military has not outlawed nor prohibited the sale of completely autonomous weapons, while not purchasing any of them. Even though allies support them, updated AI safety rules for military use are still optional.
Joe Lonsdale, a co-founder of Palantir, has urged lawmakers to take a flexible stance when it comes to AI in weaponry. He contends that the United States might be at a disadvantage from a strict restriction, particularly if rival nations like China or Russia deploy fully autonomous systems sooner.
The battle in Ukraine has spurred interest in automation despite calls for international prohibitions on autonomous weaponry. More AI integration is being pushed for by Ukrainian leaders, who think it might provide them a strategic edge against Russia.
Defense tech firms, such as Anduril and Palantir, are spending millions on lobbying to sway Congress on the future use of AI in battle as this debate develops.
dare i say that our days are numbered.