The power of thought: how the Pentagon is going to oppose Russia in the field of artificial intelligence technologies

US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper accused Moscow of being prepared to use artificial intelligence systems "against democratic countries."

“We expect Russia to use increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence systems in current and future war zones,” the Pentagon chief said during a conference on artificial intelligence in Washington.

LIVE: Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper speaks at the # NSCAI @ AiCommission conference in Washington. https://t.co/sziuidKM7h

According to Esper, Chinese 5G technologies also pose a security risk. He recalled that the construction of fully autonomous strike complexes, including submarines, had already begun in China.

"Beijing has clearly stated that it intends to be the world leader in artificial intelligence by 2030," the head of the US Department of Defense believes.

According to the American minister, it is necessary to stop the dominance of "authoritarian" countries in this area.

Esper also said that against the backdrop of threats from Moscow and Beijing, Washington needs to build an advantage in the field of artificial intelligence.

“The country that will first reap the benefits of artificial intelligence will receive a decisive advantage on the battlefield for many years to come. We must come to this first, ”said the head of the Pentagon.

According to Esper, the primary technologies that Washington should develop are artificial intelligence, directional energy weapons (laser) and hypersonic weapons. He noted that success in these areas "could change the nature of possible military operations of the distant future."

• Pentagon Head Mark Esper
• Reuters
• © Erin Scott

To preserve the US strategic advantage in these areas “it is necessary that all the forces of American intelligence and ingenuity in the private and public sectors work in concert,” the Pentagon chief said.

From monetization to demonization

This is not the first time that the United States has accused Russia of using artificial intelligence “against democratic countries”.

So, in July, the leader of the US Democratic Party in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, announced a threat to the US national security of the Russian photo application FaceApp.

“In order to use FaceApp, you must provide the company with full and unconditional access to your personal photos and data,” he said in a letter to the heads of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Trade Commission, published on Sumer’s Twitter page.

According to the senator, FaceApp gets the opportunity to subsequently have the data of its users without their consent, which, in turn, can be dangerous for the privacy of "millions of American citizens."

Schumer also called on the FBI to find out “how personal information uploaded by millions of Americans to FaceApp can end up in the hands of the Russian government or related organizations.”

However, the developer of this program, Yaroslav Goncharov, has denied all allegations. According to him, FaceApp "does not sell or transfer any user data to third parties."

“We upload only the photo that the user selected for editing, and we never transfer other images from the smartphone to the cloud,” Forbes quoted Goncharova as saying.

As political analyst Alexander Asafov notes, Esper’s statement, as well as earlier accusations of this kind against Russia, indicate that Washington needs to “fulfill the traditional annual goal of increasing the defense budget” for the next calendar period.

“In November and December, various think tanks associated with the Pentagon, and their representatives, including executives, issue statements regarding threats from Russia in cyberspace. All this is connected with Washington’s desire to justify an increase in military spending, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

• US Senate Leader Chuck Schumer
• Reuters
• © Joshua Roberts

According to Asafov, the US Defense Department’s next accusations of Russia - a “preparatory operation” before the UK parliamentary elections and the US presidential election — to later accuse Moscow of interfering in the electoral processes of Western countries.

“All this is done so that you can refer to the statement made earlier and say that there is artificial intelligence in Russia - a machine that needs to be counteracted,” the analyst explained.

By making new accusations against Russia and China at the same time, Esper is deliberately trying to connect the actions of these powers in the application of artificial intelligence in the military industry, said Konstantin Blokhin, expert at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Thus, the head of the Pentagon wants to show that Moscow and Beijing allegedly united against the United States.

“The American side accuses China of aggressive policy in the cyber sphere, and Russia of allegedly complementing and strengthening Beijing’s measures,” the analyst said in a conversation with RT.

At the same time, the Pentagon itself does not confirm its accusations with any facts and is trying to unfoundedly “demonize Russia and China in the international arena,” Blokhin believes.

“This approach is used to justify further sanction pressure on the Russian Federation and China, as well as to consolidate the divided West. So the United States wants to break away from competitors, maintaining its superiority over them, ”the expert said.

Double standard

However, according to analysts, the United States itself is actively working in the field of introducing artificial intelligence into the military sphere.

This is evidenced by, among other things, the spring application for a study by the US Army Department, the text of which was reviewed by RT. It says that the US Department of Defense intends to study the potential for maneuvering systems with artificial intelligence and the possibility of their joint work with the military “in the face of an equal potential enemy.”

The Pentagon also wants to learn how to collectively perceive the “intellectual agents” of reality.

“And besides, how to expand the sphere of influence, as well as increase situational awareness and the effectiveness of the teams, in which the capabilities of the military intellectual system are combined with manpower, in the face of dynamic threats in a difficult situation,” the document says.

In February, the U.S. Defense Department revealed its first military strategy for using artificial intelligence. According to the document, Washington will accelerate and develop the use of such systems, including in intelligence gathering and forecasting technical problems on ships and aircraft. It is also indicated that the intensification of work in the field of artificial intelligence is a reaction to the fact that Russia and China are investing in such developments for military purposes.

Recall that the development of artificial intelligence in the US military budget for the fiscal year 2020 is allocated $ 927 million.

According to Alexander Asafov, the US approach to solving international problems, including those related, in their opinion, with Russia and China, is a “double standards policy”.

• Gettyimages.ru
• © Milan_Jovic

“This also applies to attempts to ban the supply of a number of Russian weapons to other countries. The Americans justify this by saying that the interests of the United States are primary for them, therefore, that Washington, which, in their opinion, is considered a superpower, can not be anyone. At the same time, there is no question of any fair competitive conditions. The task of the American side is to crush its rivals with the help of unfair competition in order to maintain its primacy or to achieve it where it is not there, ”the expert said.

Asafov also noted that Washington seeks to develop its military-industrial complex in order to "hold the lead in the supply of arms, primarily to NATO member countries."

"In addition, the United States is concerned about the progress of geopolitical competitors - Russia and China - in the field of artificial intelligence, so the Pentagon is trying to discredit the powers, talking about the alleged threat posed by them, although this is far from reality," the analyst said.

"Ensure your own security"

According to experts, Russia is developing the field of artificial intelligence, but by no means to use it “against democratic countries,” as the Pentagon claims.

In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a national strategy for the development of artificial intelligence until 2030.

“In order to ensure the accelerated development of artificial intelligence in Russia ... I decide to approve the attached National Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence for the period until 2030,” the decree reads on the official Internet portal of legal information.

• President of Russia Vladimir Putin
• RIA News
• © Alexey Druzhinin

Earlier in early September, it was reported that the Russian Direct Investment Fund and the Russian government agreed to work together to develop the high-tech field of artificial intelligence. The corresponding agreement was signed at the Eastern Economic Forum.

“Attracting international investment and expertise stimulates the development of leading Russian companies in the field of AI. We will be able to create a serious basis for bringing their products and services in various fields to the world market, ”said the Director General of the RDIF Kirill Dmitriev.

Konstantin Blokhin stressed that Russia is forced to develop the field of artificial intelligence in order to "ensure its own security."

“The Russian Federation is almost daily exposed to hacker attacks aimed at various government departments. It is not known where they are held from, but this is done in order to destabilize the situation in the country. It is for this reason that Russia has created a powerful system to maintain its own security, but it is not aimed at undermining the US infrastructure, ”the analyst noted.

Asafov also stressed that Moscow is developing a high-tech weapon "for retaliatory measures in the event of serious threats, a direct attack on Russia."

“The Russian Federation, like any other leading world power, certainly develops the field of artificial intelligence and creates opportunities for its military use. However, the Russian Federation, unlike the United States, does not have the right to launch a preemptive strike in cyberspace or elsewhere, enshrined in the defense concept. Statements that Russia is allegedly going to attack Western countries through cyberspace are speculations and fantasies, nothing more, ”the expert concluded.