On a recent episode of the podcast On With Kara Swisher, host Kara Swisher interviewed Trae Stephens, co-founder and partner at Anduril Industries. The two discussed autonomous warfare and AI technology, as well as how it is being used in defense systems today.
Stephens began by explaining that his company focuses on developing artificial intelligence (AI) for military applications. He noted that this type of technology has been around for decades but has only recently become more widely adopted due to advances in computing power and data availability. He also highlighted the importance of understanding the ethical implications of using such powerful tools in warfare scenarios.
Swisher then asked Stephens about how AI can be used to improve existing defense systems or create new ones altogether. Stephens responded by noting that AI can be used to automate certain tasks within existing defense systems, such as target identification or threat detection. This automation could potentially reduce human error while increasing accuracy and speed when responding to threats or other situations requiring quick decision making capabilities from military personnel. Additionally, he pointed out that AI could also be used to develop entirely new types of weapons or defensive strategies which are not currently available with traditional methods alone.
The conversation then shifted towards discussing potential risks associated with using autonomous weaponry powered by AI algorithms in combat situations where lives are at stake; namely, what happens if something goes wrong? In response, Stephens explained that safety protocols must always come first when designing any kind of system involving automated weapons – whether they’re powered by humans or machines – so there is an appropriate level of oversight over their use cases and outcomes should anything go awry during deployment scenarios. Furthermore, he added that these safety protocols must take into account both the short-term effects on those directly involved in a conflict situation as well as long-term impacts on society at large if these technologies were ever deployed without proper safeguards against misuse or abuse from either side involved in a conflict scenario .
Finally, Swisher asked Stephens what advice he would give someone looking to get started working with autonomous warfare technologies like those developed at Anduril Industries? To this question Stephen replied: “My advice would be start small – don’t try to tackle too much all at once – focus on one specific problem you want your technology solution to solve before attempting larger scale projects.” He went on further explain why taking smaller steps initially was important: “It’s easy for people who aren’t familiar with this field yet think they need some sort of grandiose idea right away but really it’s best just start off slow and build up gradually”.
Overall it was an interesting discussion between two experts about the current state and future possibilities surrounding autonomous warfare technologies powered by artificial intelligence algorithms; highlighting both its potential benefits along with its inherent risks if not properly managed responsibly moving forward into our increasingly digital world order
New York Magazine
