In recent months, experts who know artificial intelligence better than anyone have made apocalyptic statements about its potential. Earlier this year, the “Godfather of AI” Jeffrey Hinton resigned from his research position at Google, and in April issued a grave warning about the potential dangers of the technology he helped create. In June, more than 300 AI industry leaders and researchers agreed that AI has Signed a one-sentence statement declaring a nuclear war-level annihilation risk. .
In the midst of all this turmoil, alumni Paul Schaar’s new book, Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, hit the bookshelves at just the right time. In Four Battlegrounds, Shahr provides a comprehensive analysis of the capabilities of AI and what is at stake in the race for AI supremacy among nations. Amidst the eerie noise, Schaar’s sober investigation gives readers a balance between the forces shaping AI and how it could change the geopolitical landscape for decades to come. It will give you a fine and nuanced understanding.
Mr. Sharl holds a BS in Physics (2001) and an MS in Political Economy and Public Policy (2006) from WashU and is Vice President and Director of Research for the Center for a New America Security. He previously served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he served as a reconnaissance team leader with the Army’s 3rd Ranger Battalion, and has conducted multiple missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In his book, Shahl analyzes the global race for AI supremacy by dividing it into four battlefields: data, people, computing hardware, and organizations. He then assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the major players in each sector (mainly the United States and China, and to a lesser extent the European Union) and finds parity between his two major countries in this sector. .
The book is full of facts, figures, and references that paint a detailed picture of the situation in international affairs, but it also contains many, and sometimes amusing, explanations of what Schare says is the fragility of AI. . In one, he was trained for a week to use AI sensors to identify Marines in the field. On test day, the sensor is placed in an exposed location, but the Marines can easily outwit the AI and approach the sensor undetected. One pair did a 300-yard somersault straight toward the sensor without being noticed. Another pair hides under a cardboard box while stalking above it and hearing their own whimsical laughter all the time.
In another scenario, an AI program is asked to play a simulated boat race, but instead of completing the race, the bot discovers that it can gain an unsurpassable points lead by going through intermediate gates multiple times. I noticed. A fundamental fact of AI is that it thinks in a completely different way, Shahr said. “This kind of clever hacking is common in AI research, but we need to start thinking about such things as we see AI systems appear in the real world.”
“It is very likely that we will end up in a place where countries are building and deploying highly dangerous AI weapons, and I think we need to think about that and be vigilant.”
Paul Schaar
Despite the examples of AI’s incredible prowess in simulated combat, detailed in Four Battlegrounds, this kind of unpredictable behavior is what makes AI closer to deadly weapons and life-threatening decisions. It raises the question of where it should be. “The military is enthusiastic about deploying artificial intelligence. “We are doing it,” says Schaar. “It is very likely that we will end up in a place where countries are building and deploying highly dangerous AI weapons, and I think we need to think about that and be vigilant.”
As Shahr argues, the practical application of AI will be largely determined by the government, and the way China is leveraging AI domestically and creating a virtual panopticon to spy on and suppress its citizens is the most important. severely criticized. “There are a lot of cameras” on utility poles in cities, Share said, describing facial recognition technology that is aimed specifically at ethnic minorities, especially Uyghurs.
In that sense, Four Battlegrounds is Scharre’s call to action. “I intended this book to be a blueprint for how the United States can maintain its leadership position in artificial intelligence,” he says. “This book explores what is important for global security and human liberty, and how, as AI is developed and deployed around the world, it aligns with democratic values and protects individual liberty. It explains why it’s important to be done in a way.”
