16 septembre 2024 | International, C4ISR
Pentagon to oversee $3 billion effort to strengthen microchip supply
The program aims to create a production capability that specifically addresses military requirements for advanced semiconductors.
1 juin 2020 | International, C4ISR
US joins G7 artificial intelligence group to counter China
By: Matt O'Brien, The Associated Press
The U.S. has joined an international panel for setting ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence, a move previously dismissed by the Trump administration.
The White House's chief technology officer, Michael Kratsios, told The Associated Press on Thursday it is important to establish shared democratic principles as a counter to China's record of “twisting technology” in ways that threaten civil liberties.
“Chinese technology companies are attempting to shape international standards on facial recognition and surveillance at the United Nations," he said.
The Trump administration had been the lone holdout among leaders of the Group of Seven — the world's wealthiest democracies — in setting up the Global Partnership on AI.
The partnership launched Thursday after a virtual meeting between national technology ministers. It was nearly two years after the leaders of Canada and France announced they were forming a group to guide the responsible adoption of AI based on shared principles of "human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation and economic growth.”
The Trump administration objected to that approach, arguing that too much focus on regulation would hamper U.S. innovation. But negotiations over the past year and changes to the group's scope led the U.S. to join, Kratsios said.
“We worked very hard to make it clear that it would not be a standard-setting or policy-making body,” he said.
U.S. involvement is important because of the large role that American tech firms play globally and its historic advocacy for human rights, said Kay Mathiesen, an associate professor focused on computer ethics at Northeastern University in Boston.
“U.S. tech companies such as Microsoft, Google and Apple are all concerned about what guidelines they should be following to use AI responsibly,” she said. “Given their global presence, the fact that the U.S. wasn't involved does not mean that they would not end up having to follow any regulations developed by the rest of the G7.”
The U.S. push to scrutinize AI-assisted surveillance tools built by China also fits into a broader trade war in which both countries are vying for technological dominance.
Beijing on Monday demanded that Washington withdraw the latest round of export sanctions imposed on Chinese tech companies accused of playing roles in a crackdown in its Muslim northwestern region of Xinjiang.
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27 avril 2021 | International, Aérospatial
US State Department clears Australia to buy MQ-9B drones
The deal would allow Australia to buy up to 12 MQ-9B SkyGuardians.
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19 décembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial
Start of Air Force’s light attack plane competition pushed back until next year
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — If the Air Force moves forward on a proposed initiative to buy light attack planes, it won't happen by the end of 2018. The service intended to put out a final request for proposals this month for a potential light attack aircraft program, but the date has now slipped into 2019, an Air Force official confirmed Tuesday. “The Air Force does not anticipate release of the final Light Attack Request for Proposal by the end of the calendar year as we complete additional analysis,” said Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Hope Cronin in an emailed response to Defense News. The service released a draft solicitation on Aug. 3, following two experimentation campaigns that brought the Sierra Nevada Corp.-Embraer A-29 Super Tucano, Textron's Scorpion jet and AT-6 attack plane, and L3's AT-802L Longsword to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico for several rounds of test flights. The second set of flight experiments between the A-29 and AT-6 were curtailed this summer after an A-29 crashed, killing its pilot. However, the Air Force maintained that it could garner the data it needed on aircraft maintenance and network operations while testing the planes on the ground. Air Force acquisition officials have shied away from declaring whether a program of record will begin in the fiscal year 2020 budget, but the August presolicitation seems to limit the contenders to the A-29 and AT-6, stating that SNC and Textron “are the only firms that appear to possess the capability necessary to meet the requirement within the Air Force's time frame without causing an unacceptable delay in meeting the needs of the warfighter.” The goal of the light attack experiments is to prove whether the Air Force can quickly bring industry to the table to experiment with off the shelf equipment and rapidly make a decision about whether to buy it. In that light, the delay in releasing the final request for proposals is at least a slight setback, as it's unclear whether the wait for a final RFP could also push back the Air Force's proposed due date for awarding a contract — before the start of the 2020 fiscal year on Oct. 1. But it remains unclear whether the Air Force will have the money to buy it. Officials have maintained that a light attack capability is “additive," meaning that they would not be willing to sacrifice procurement dollars designated for aircraft in existing or planned programs of record so that it could buy the AT-6 or A-29. However, the Pentagon's topline budget is still uncertain. Defense Department budget officials had geared up for a $733 billion budget in FY20, only to have President Donald Trump call for a cut to $700 billion. Now, it appears that number is growing after intervention from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and congressional hawks, and could be as high as $750 billion. Whether the light attack aircraft program fits into any of those topline budgets is currently unknown. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/12/18/start-of-air-forces-light-attack-plane-competition-pushed-back-until-next-year