Officials from the Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) met with military and defense personnel from a dozen other nations this week to discuss the use of artificial intelligence for military purposes.
The first-ever “Partnership for Defense” took place on Sept. 15-16 and included delegations from Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Israel, Japan, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
“The two-day dialogue focused on AI ethical principles for defense, including defining principles and best practices for implementing principles into the AI delivery pipeline,” according to a JAIC press release. The United States started the process of adopting AI ethics earlier this year with the approval of its first set of ethical artificial intelligence principles in February. The department began inserting the principles into request for proposals in May, and completed the training for its first cohort of “Responsible AI Champions” in July.
“We want the Partnership for Defense to be an enduring forum for dialogue among like-minded partners to advance our shared interests in artificial intelligence and help shape the future of our defense cooperation for the digital era,” said Stephanie Culberson, the JAIC’s head of international AI policy, in the release. “Together we can commit to the design, development, and use of responsible AI in defense, ultimately strengthening our cooperation and improving the interoperability of our militaries.”
The JAIC said that the dialogue facilitates a meaningful exchange between the United States and participating nations as they transition from hardware centric forces to software centric and data focused militaries that are AI ready. “Ultimately, a strong coalition of AI ready militaries will enable the United States and its allies and partners to realize the potential of emerging technology to strengthen global security, deter shared threats, and respond more efficiently together to natural disasters and other international contingencies,” the JAIC explained.
Representatives are looking to expand the number of participating countries, according to the release. The “Partnership for Defense” expects to meet again early next year.
