San Francisco (AFP)
The United States risks being left behind, in particular by China, in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, crucial for the future of the country in terms of both security and economy, warns a commission which includes a former Google executive and the future Amazon boss.
"America is not ready to defend itself or compete in the age of AI," says the National Security Commission on AI in a report that calls on the government to invest "a modest down payment for future breakthroughs, "a minimum of $ 40 billion in research and development.
This type of technology, based on the large-scale exploitation of data by machines, constitutes "the most powerful tool which can benefit humanity for generations", according to the opening letter of the chairman of the committee. , Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google.
But it is also an instrument of surveillance and destruction, he recalls.
The letter thus mentions military applications, such as the transformation of commercial drones into "intelligent weapons", a technology available to armies and terrorists alike.
The race for AI is also playing out in the field of values, argues the commission.
“China's use of AI sets a frightening precedent for anyone in the world who values individual freedoms. This use of AI for purposes of repression and surveillance - inside, and, of increasingly, outside the country - is a powerful counterpoint to how we believe AI should be used, ”says Eric Schmidt.
The commission is made up of 15 people from both political sides - tech experts, academics, business leaders.
In their report of some 750 pages, they call for massive investments in the training of individuals and in the companies at the heart of this industry, in particular to no longer depend on China for the supply of electronic chips.
They say they are "frustrated by the government's slow progress" in institutional adoption of AI.
Andrew Jassy, who heads AWS, Amazon's cloud (remote computing) arm, and is due to become the tech giant's CEO this year, is also on the commission.
The company, leader of the cloud in the world, is engaged in a fierce competition against Microsoft, the number two, in connection with a mega-contract of 10 billion dollars to equip the US Department of Defense.
© 2021 AFP