By: Adam Dachis
May 23, 2019
Artificial intelligence provides vital solutions to some very complex problems but remains a looming threat as we consider its applications on the battlefield. New research details the impending risks and pins the fate of humanity on complex choices we will face in the near future.
A new paper from private intelligence and defense company ASRC Federal and the University of Maryland takes a deep dive into what could happen if we, as a society, choose to employ artificial intelligence in modern warfare. While many aspects of the paper focus on bleak and sobering scenarios that result in the eradication of humanity, it concludes with an understanding that this technology will exist and we can, too, if we make the right choices. Nevertheless, the researchers touch on two important inevitabilities: the development of weaponized artificial intelligence and an impending “normal accident” (more commonly known as a system accident) related to this technology.