Sustain LAist today!

Make a monthly donation during our June member drive to power our local newsroom.
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
NPR News

Web Extra: Gilman Louie On The Global AI Warfare And Its Ethical Challenges

(Cristina Young/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
(Cristina Young/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.

Listen 43:22

Who will win the coming battle between AI superpowers?

In 2018, Congress formed the independent National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence — giving it a mandate to investigate and report to Congress on how the United States should “advance artificial intelligence and machine learning” for national security.

In March of this year, the Commission released its final report to surprisingly little fanfare. Surprising, because the report makes clear that: “For the first time since World War II, America’s technological predominance — the backbone of its economic and military power — is under threat” due to international advances in AI. They add: “global crises exemplified by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change highlight the need to expand our conception of national security and find innovative AI-enabled solutions.”

The Commission intimates that decision-makers in the US may not even fully comprehend the changes AI will bring. The report begins with what Thomas Edison said of electricity: “It is a field of fields … it holds the secrets which will reorganize the life of the world.” That encapsulates the AI future.

On today’s show, we spoke about that future, its challenges and implications. During the hour, we shared a part of the conversation we had with Gilman Louie, a member of the National Security Commission on AI and former CEO of In-Q-Tel, the government’s national security venture capital arm.

In this special web exclusive, we bring you that conversation in its entirety.


In this web exclusive … we hear from:

Sponsored message

Gilman Louie, commissioner on the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Co-founder and Partner of Alsop Louie Partners, an early-stage technology venture capital firm. (@gglouie)

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today