The U.S. Defense Department (DOD), which is trying to improve the military's artificial intelligence capabilities, is considering setting up a joint office focused on just that. "We would we concentrate all of DOD's efforts since we have a number of AI efforts underway right now," Mattis testified before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee. Mattis made his comments in response to a question from Rep. Seth Moulton, who expressed concern that China aims to match U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities by 2020 and exceed them by 2030. A DOD spokesperson declined to elaborate on the potential joint office. But according to the Pentagon's new national defense strategy, AI is one of a host of technology areas that need more investment to ensure the U.S. military keeps its edge.

The Defense Department has plans to open a joint office focused on developing artificial intelligence prototypes. Michael Griffin, the newly appointed and first undersecretary of Defense for research and engineering, said Friday during a discussion at the Hudson Institute that his office is creating a so-called "Joint Artificial Intelligence Office" and similar offices for other emerging technologies, like hypersonics. Griffin's remarks came on the tail of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis' Senate testimony Thursday in which he described his aggressive agenda for Pentagon research and engineering. "We're going to move things into production, prototyping," Mattis said. "We're not going to have more papers, we're going to move on hypersonics, move on AI." He explained that means coordinated office across the department, "not a bunch of different organizations all feeling their way forward."