US Risks Superpower Status without Military AI – Bellare – Medium

Project Maven, the Pentagon-backed AI imaging initiative that seeks to "result in improved safety for citizens and nations through faster identification of evils such as violent extremist activities and human right [sic] abuses," marks just the first steps along very long road for the American defense and intelligence industries. Maven uses drone footage to build its machine learning models, and drew media attention earlier this year when Google backed out of the project over the concerns of dissident employees. The employees, some 3,000 of whom signed a petition against any involvement with the US military, demanded the company not contribute to any research that would be used for wartime applications. General James Holmes of the US Air Force told reporters last month, however, that the US would need to vigorously pursue such research if it wanted to seriously deter war. A stance the Pentagon has thrown its weight behind, releasing a memo earlier this week announcing the establishment of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.