Military Applications of Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Concerns in an Uncertain World
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A RAND Corporation report examining ethical, operational, and strategic risks of military AI applications, comparing U.S., Chinese, and Russian development efforts, and assessing autonomous weapons regulation proposals—directly relevant to AI governance and safety in high-stakes military contexts.
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Summary
This RAND report surveys military AI technologies and their potential benefits and risks, comparing development efforts across the U.S., China, and Russia. It examines policy positions on autonomous weapons bans and regulation, finding that adversaries are increasingly integrating AI into military systems. The authors recommend the U.S. Air Force prepare for AI-empowered warfare while pursuing confidence-building measures and maintaining human control.
Key Points
- •Compares military AI development in the U.S., China, and Russia, finding all three are integrating AI into warfighting systems.
- •Assesses ethical, operational, and strategic risks of military AI, including autonomous weapons systems.
- •Finds that outright bans on autonomous weapons are unlikely to succeed given geopolitical competition.
- •Recommends maintaining human positive control over AI-empowered military systems as a risk-reduction measure.
- •Calls for confidence-building and risk-reduction measures between states alongside continued U.S. AI military development.
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RR-3139-1
The authors examine the ethical considerations, benefits, and risks of military applications of artificial intelligence. Comparing development efforts in the United States, China, and Russia (as well as various positions on proposals to regulate or ban autonomous weapons), the authors point to a need for the United States to continue to pursue advantages in the field and explore confidence-building and risk-reduction measures with other states.
Military Applications of Artificial Intelligence
Ethical Concerns in an Uncertain World
Forrest E. Morgan, Benjamin Boudreaux, Andrew J. Lohn, Mark Ashby, Christian Curriden, Kelly Klima, Derek Grossman
ResearchPublished Apr 28, 2020
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The authors of this report examine military applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and consider the ethical implications. The authors survey the kinds of technologies broadly classified a
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