TECH - US Defense Department To Deploy Thousands Of Fully-Autonomous AI-Controlled Units By 2025 | Benzinga
The U.S. Department of Defense is pursuing a new initiative to develop a fleet of autonomous, unmanned air, water, space and land vehicles that would use artificial intelligence to perform diverse defense tasks.
Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks gave new details of the Pentagon's "Replicator" project in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
The project is expected to produce thousands of fully autonomous units ready within 18 to 24 months. Hicks described them as "small, smart, cheap and many."
Hicks made it clear that the defense department needs to speed up the development of AI-powered military instruments to compete with China's fast innovation in the field.
"Conflict with the [People's Republic of China] is neither imminent nor inevitable," she said.
"The PRC has spent the last 20 years building a modern military carefully crafted to blunt the operational advantages we've enjoyed for decades," Hicks added.
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A Growing Track In AI: Hicks has been keen on AI technology since being confirmed for her role in 2021. One of her first actions on the job was launching the AI and Data Acceleration initiative, which aimed to develop the data architecture necessary to develop AI systems that can be trusted for military operations.
"DOD’s operators must come to trust the outputs of AI systems; its commanders must come to trust the ...