Pentagon officials are pushing back against media reports that China has emerged as the world leader in artificial intelligence and now enjoys a technological edge over the United States.
While it is true the U.S. faces “formidable technological competitors,” the reality is that the United States continues to lead in the field of artificial intelligence in its most important military applications, said Nand Mulchandani, acting director of the Joint Article Intelligence Center at the Department of Defense.
“Leadership in military AI [artificial intelligence] is inherently application specific and context specific,” Mr. Mulchandani told Pentagon reporters during a Wednesday press conference.
There are some aspects of AI in which China’s military and police authorities have the world’s most advanced capabilities, Mr. Mulchandani said, citing China’s unregulated facial recognition for surveillance and control of their population and its language text analysis for internet and media censorship.
“It is not that the United States military is technologically incapable of developing such systems,” he said. “It is that our Constitution and privacy laws protect the rights of U.S. citizens in how their data is collected and used.”
The U.S.,simply doesn’t invest in building such a wide-ranging surveillance and censorship system, Mr. Mulchandani said.
He said China and Russia are moving forward in developing artificial intelligence-enabled surveillance technologies along with autonomous combat systems, without providing adequate technical or ethical safeguards and policies.
“The United States is not behind in a race for these AP applications. We simply deny that their development and use for the ends of state repression and control represent forward progress,” Mr. Mulchandani said.
The U.S. is leading the world in national security applications where top Pentagon officials believe artificial intelligence would make a significant impact in the future balance of military power and strategic competition. That military advantage will be preserved over the long term, Mr. Mulchandi said.
“The stakes are high [and] the competition is busy. We can’t afford to slow down,” he said.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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