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☆ From Land Mines to Drones, Tech Has Driven Fears About Autonomous Arms
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Eric Lipton | More About Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Swarms of killer drones are likely to soon be a standard feature of battlefields around the world. That has ignited debate over how or whether to regulate their use and spurred concerns about the prospect of eventually turning life-or-death decisions over to artificial intelligence programs. Here is an overview of how the technology has evolved, what types of weapons are being developed and how the debate is unfolding. Eventually, artificial intelligence should allow weapons systems to make their own decisions about selecting certain kinds of targets and striking them. tech have intensified the discussion around such systems, known as lethal autonomous weapons.

☆ As A.I.-Controlled Killer Drones Become Reality, Nations Debate Limits
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Eric Lipton | More About Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But while the U.N. is providing a platform for governments to express their concerns, the process seems unlikely to yield substantive new legally binding restrictions. The result has been to tie the debate up in a procedural knot with little chance of progress on a legally binding mandate anytime soon. The debate over the risks of artificial intelligence has drawn new attention in recent days with the battle over control of OpenAI, perhaps the world’s leading A.I. company, whose leaders appeared split over whether the firm is taking sufficient account over the dangers of the technology. And last week, officials from China and the United States discussed a related issue: potential limits on the use of A.I.

Persons: “, ” Konstantin Vorontsov Organizations: United Nations Locations: United States, Russia, Australia, Israel, China, New York

And the White House and Pentagon both know that. Mr. Musk, rather than apologize, has threatened lawsuits. But SpaceX is privately held, entirely controlled by Mr. Musk. (Tesla, his electric vehicle company, is publicly held.) And so far, while the White House has been outspoken, the Pentagon has been silent.

Persons: Musk, Lockheed Martin —, Tesla, ” Walter Isaacson, Musk’s, ”, Lockheed Martin Organizations: House, Pentagon, Raytheon, Boeing, Lockheed, IBM, Apple, Warner Bros, Twitter, SpaceX, Mr, White, U.S, United Launch Alliance Locations: United States

He brought that question to his brother Ryan, a tech whiz who had invented a type of wireless cellphone charger when he was in college. After Brandon Tseng left the military, he joined with his brother to find ways to apply technology to national security challenges and quickly had what he remembers as his “aha” moment. Even fighter jets could perhaps be turned into A.I.-controlled robot drones. The company the Tseng brothers created in 2015, named Shield AI, is now valued by venture capital investors at $2.7 billion. The firm has 625 employees in Texas, California, Virginia and Abu Dhabi.

Persons: Brandon Tseng, Ryan, Tseng Organizations: Navy SEAL, aha, Israel Defense Forces Locations: Afghanistan, A.I, Texas , California, Virginia, Abu Dhabi

☆ Middle East War Adds to Surge in International Arms Sales
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Eric Lipton | More About Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just days after the assault by Hamas ignited a new war in the Middle East, shipments of American weapons began arriving in Israel: smart bombs, ammunition and interceptors for the Iron Dome missile-defense system. When President Biden meets in Israel on Wednesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, more military aid is a likely topic. The conflict between Israel and Hamas is just the latest impetus behind a boom in international arms sales that is bolstering profits and weapons-making capacity among American suppliers. The surge in sales is providing the Biden administration with new opportunities to tie the militaries of other countries more closely to the United States, the world’s biggest arms exporter, while also raising concerns that a more heavily armed world will be prone to careen into further wars. The surge in sales is also being driven by the rapid pace of technological change in warfighting, pressuring even well-armed nations to buy new generations of equipment to stay competitive.

Persons: Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel Locations: Israel, United States, Ukraine, China, warfighting

☆ Faced With Evolving Threats, U.S. Navy Struggles to Change
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( Eric Lipton | More About Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

One, the T-38 Devil Ray, which can reach speeds of up to 90 miles per hour — faster than just about any other vessel in the Navy — was awaiting its next assignment. Alongside it was the Ocean Aero Triton, whose solar-power system allows it to operate for three months at a time without any need to refuel. He said he found enormous enthusiasm for the idea among frontline commanders in the Pacific and the Middle East. “We are trying to improve Navy power, but we need to do more than that: We need to reimagine Navy power,” he said in an interview this summer, just after retiring from the Navy. It is vital that we throw off old conventions.”

Persons: Ray, Navy —, Devil Ray, Admiral Selby, ” Organizations: Navy, Triton, Naval Research Locations: Asia, Persian, Bahrain, San Diego, Pacific

☆ Pentagon Vows to Move Quickly to Buy More Drones, Citing China Threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Eric Lipton | More About Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The commitment came from Kathleen Hicks, the deputy defense secretary. The Pentagon, Ms. Hicks conceded, is “too risk averse” as “our system was built for the industrial age, not the information age, let alone the age of A.I.,” referring to artificial intelligence and citing criticism she has raised or heard from others. “I’ll let you in on a little secret,” she said, according to a transcript of her prepared remarks before the National Defense Industrial Association in Washington. As one of the world’s largest organizations, it’s often hard to see ourselves clearly, and get out of our own way. So I’m far from satisfied that everything is working as it should.”

Persons: Kathleen Hicks, Hicks, “ I’ll, ”, “ Organizations: Pentagon, National Defense Industrial Association Locations: China, Russian, Washington

☆ A.I. Brings the Robot Wingman to Aerial Combat
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Eric Lipton | More About Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

It is powered into flight by a rocket engine. It can fly a distance equal to the width of China. It has a stealthy design and is capable of carrying missiles that can hit enemy targets far beyond its visual range. Its mission is to marry artificial intelligence and its sensors to identify and evaluate enemy threats and then, after getting human sign-off, to move in for the kill. On a recent day at Eglin Air Force Base on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Maj. Ross Elder, 34, a test pilot from West Virginia, was preparing for an exercise in which he would fly his F-16 fighter alongside the Valkyrie.

Persons: Ross Elder Organizations: U.S, Air Force, Eglin Air Force Base Locations: China, Florida’s Gulf Coast, Maj, West Virginia

☆ Pacific Seabed Mining Delayed as International Agency Finalizes Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Eric Lipton | More About Eric Lipton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The effort to postpone the start has been led by nations including Costa Rica, Chile and France. The three nations urged other countries that are members of the Seabed Authority’s governing council to agree that no permit authorizing mining in international waters should be granted until regulations are finalized. “We are on the side of the ocean,” said Gina Guillén Grillo, Costa Rica’s representative to the Seabed Authority who has helped lead the opposition to seabed mining. While the Seabed Authority continues its work to determine environmental standards, as well as a royalty rate that will be paid by the mining contractors, among other matters, the Metals Company will continue to lobby other nations, Mr. Barron said. The Metals Company and Nauru, along with the delegation from China, which also has been aggressively pursuing seabed mining, pushed unsuccessfully at last week’s meeting for the Seabed Authority to set a goal of finalizing the regulations by 2024.

Persons: ”, Gina Guillén Grillo, Costa, ” Gerard Barron, Barron, Mr Organizations: Metals, Metals Company, The Metals Company Locations: Costa Rica, Chile, France, Nauru, Indonesia, Congo, China

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