For years, scientists and experts have warned about the risks and ethical implications of uncontrolled artificial intelligence. For this reason, the US government has decided to take this issue very seriously by hiring what has been called an “AI ethicist”.

According to a recent report published on the online edition of prestigious British newspaper The Guardian, “the Pentagon is looking for the right person to help it navigate the morally murky waters of artificial intelligence (AI), billed as the battlefield of the 21st century”.

The article quotes the opinion of US Lt General Jack Shanahan, director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Centre (JAIC), a subdivision of the US Defence Department, who affirmed that “one of the positions we [JAIC] are going to fill will be someone who’s not just looking at technical standards, but who’s an ethicist”.

“I think that’s a very important point that we would not have thought about this a year ago, I’ll be honest with you”, Mr Shanahan stated. “So we are going to bring in someone who will have a deep background in ethics and then, with the lawyers within the department, we’ll be looking at how do we actually bake this into the future of the Department of Defence”, he added.

The US Army general explained that this project is especially focus on rivals China and Russia. “We are thinking deeply about the ethical, safe and lawful use of AI”, he declared. “At its core, we are in a contest for the character of the international order in the digital age. Along with our allies and partners, we want to lead and ensure that that character reflects the values and interests of free and democratic societies. I do not see China or Russia placing the same kind of emphasis in these areas”, he expressed.

Draw your own conclusions…

For more information: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/07/pentagon-military-artificial-intelligence-ethicist