In 2021, the Maryland Department of Health and the state police were confronting a crisis: Fatal drug overdoses in the state were at an all-time high, and authorities didn't know why. Seeking answers, Maryland officials turned to scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the national metrology institute for the United States, which defines and maintains standards of measurement essential to a wide range of industrial sectors and health and security applications. There, a research chemist named Ed Sisco and his team had developed methods for detecting trace amounts of drugs, explosives, and other dangerous materials--techniques that could protect law enforcement officials and others who had to collect these samples. And a pilot uncovered new, critical information almost immediately. This story is from the next edition of our print magazine.

As I also write in my story, this push raises alarms from some AI safety experts about whether large language models are fit to analyze subtle pieces of intelligence in situations with high geopolitical stakes. It also accelerates the US toward a world where AI is not just analyzing military data but suggesting actions--for example, generating lists of targets. Proponents say this promises greater accuracy and fewer civilian deaths, but many human rights groups argue the opposite. With that in mind, here are three open questions to keep your eye on as the US military, and others around the world, bring generative AI to more parts of the so-called "kill chain." Talk to as many defense-tech companies as I have and you'll hear one phrase repeated quite often: "human in the loop."

Despite growing concerns about the breakneck speed at which the world's armed forces are incorporating artificial intelligence into their weapons and systems, global cooperation in regulating the military use of the cutting-edge technology is proving elusive. The challenges were highlighted on Tuesday, the final day of the Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) summit in Seoul, as over a third of the 96 participating countries, including military powers such as China, Russia and Israel, refused to back a "blueprint for action" that puts a strong emphasis on human oversight. A total of 60 nations, including the United States and most of its allies, backed the declaration, but there is no guarantee they will adhere to it, experts warned, pointing to its nonbinding nature and the significant military advantages AI provides at a time of growing international tensions.

When US President Joe Biden meets with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the San Francisco Bay Area this week, the pair will have a long list of matters to discuss, including the Israel-Hamas war and Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Behind the scenes at the APEC summit, however, US officials hope to strike up a dialogue with China about placing guardrails around military use of artificial intelligence, with the ultimate goal of lessening the potential risks that rapid adoption--and reckless use--of the technology might bring. "We have a collective interest in reducing the potential risks from the deployment of unreliable AI applications," because of risks of unintended escalation, says a senior State Department official familiar with recent efforts to broach the issue, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We very much hope to have a further conversation with China on this issue." Biden's meeting with Xi this week may provide momentum for more military dialogue.

When politicians, tech executives, and researchers gathered in the UK last week to discuss the risks of artificial intelligence, one prominent worry was that algorithms might someday turn against their human masters. More quietly, the group made progress on controlling the use of AI for military ends. On November 1, at the US embassy in London, US vice president Kamala Harris announced a range of AI initiatives, and her warnings about the threat AI poses to human rights and democratic values got people's attention. But she also revealed a declaration signed by 31 nations to set guardrails around military use of AI. It pledges signatories to use legal reviews and training to ensure military AI stays within international laws, develop the technology cautiously and transparently, avoid unintended biases in systems that use AI, and continue to discuss how the technology can be developed and deployed responsibly.

It's probably hard to imagine that you are the target of spycraft, but spying on employees is the next frontier of military AI. Surveillance techniques familiar to authoritarian dictatorships have now been repurposed to target American workers. Over the past decade, a few dozen companies have emerged to sell your employer subscriptions for services like "open source intelligence," "reputation management," and "insider threat assessment"--tools often originally developed by defense contractors for intelligence uses. As deep learning and new data sources have become available over the past few years, these tools have become dramatically more sophisticated. With them, your boss may be able to use advanced data analytics to identify labor organizing, internal leakers, and the company's critics.

NATO wants to strike a deal with China over rules outlining the responsible use of artificial intelligence and other disruptive technologies in the military domain, the alliance's chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday. The organization is pushing to develop shared universal standards for new technologies, following up on an AI strategy agreed among the alliance's members that outlines principles for responsible use. "The next step would be to engage with China, both on these values and principles but also to perhaps agree on some rules of the road for responsible use," Stoltenberg told a NATO conference on arms control and disarmament, by video link. He added that his staff was in regular contact with their counterparts in capitals including Beijing. This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.

Last Thursday, the US State Department outlined a new vision for developing, testing, and verifying military systems--including weapons--that make use of AI. The Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy represents an attempt by the US to guide the development of military AI at a crucial time for the technology. The document does not legally bind the US military, but the hope is that allied nations will agree to its principles, creating a kind of global standard for building AI systems responsibly. Among other things, the declaration states that military AI needs to be developed according to international laws, that nations should be transparent about the principles underlying their technology, and that high standards are implemented for verifying the performance of AI systems. It also says that humans alone should make decisions around the use of nuclear weapons.

Were you unable to attend Transform 2022? Check out all of the summit sessions in our on-demand library now! For years, U.S. defense officials and Washington think-tankers alike have debated whether the future of our military could -- or should -- look a little less human. Already, the U.S. military has started to rely on technology that employs machine learning, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data -- raising ethical questions along the way. While these technologies have countless beneficial applications, ranging from threat assessment to preparing troops for battle, they rightfully evoke concerns about a future in which Terminator-like machines take over.

The U.S. and India have agreed to engage in new talks about artificial intelligence and its use in matters of national security, an outgrowth of the nations' deepening relationship at a time of sharpened Indo-Pacific focus. News of the inaugural Defense Artificial Intelligence Dialogue came after Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with their Indian counterparts, Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh and Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar, April 11. Both the Defense and State departments acknowledged the topic in their accounts of the international get-together. "The United States and India signed a Space Situational Awareness arrangement, which lays the groundwork for more advanced cooperation in space," the Pentagon said in a readout. "They also agreed to launch an inaugural Defense Artificial Intelligence Dialogue, while expanding joint cyber training and exercises."