philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

 One thing Neroda made clear is that these principles are in no way abstract. In fact, artificial intelligence is currently being used in a variety of applications in national defense. Examples include AI's function creating more effective cyber defenses, its use predicting and repairing military equipment before it breaks down, as well as implementations designed to improve the performance and readiness of soldiers.

"There is now an increasing focus on operationalizing AI to move pilots and prototypes out of the lab and into operations where they can have an increased impact."

The principles are far-reaching, but broadly speaking they include the mandate that AI be equitable and traceable. In other words, levels of bias in training data used for AI development, which is a key weakness in any big data application, must be identifiable and measurable.

The principles of stress reliability.

Governability is also a key issue. AI will need to have a monitoring capability that proves a level of proficiency. More than that, it will need a mechanism to disengage and revert to alternative approaches or trigger automated retraining when proficiency is not met.

...the US isn't acting unilaterally. In fact, the US and Europe have adopted very similar AI principles this year. The US also recently joined the G7 AI panel for setting ethical guidelines for the use of AI, which was created to guide the responsible adoption of AI-based on shared principles of human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth.

See the full story here: https://www.zdnet.com/article/war-machines-dods-ethical-guidelines-for-battlefield-ai/

The department’s AI ethical principles encompass five major areas:

1. Responsible. DoD personnel will exercise appropriate levels of judgment and care, while remaining responsible for the development, deployment, and use of AI capabilities.
2. Equitable. The Department will take deliberate steps to minimize unintended bias in AI capabilities.
3. Traceable. The Department’s AI capabilities will be developed and deployed such that relevant personnel possess an appropriate understanding of the technology, development processes, and operational methods applicable to AI capabilities, including with transparent and auditable methodologies, data sources, and design procedure and documentation.
4. Reliable. The Department’s AI capabilities will have explicit, well-defined uses, and the safety, security, and effectiveness of such capabilities will be subject to testing and assurance within those defined uses across their entire life-cycles.
5. Governable. The Department will design and engineer AI capabilities to fulfill their intended functions while possessing the ability to detect and avoid unintended consequences, and the ability to disengage or deactivate deployed systems that demonstrate unintended behavior.

From: https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2091996/dod-adopts-ethical-principles-for-artificial-intelligence/