Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials will include a panel discussion on ethics and legal issues at the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Colloquium being held March 6-7 in Alexandria, Virginia. "We're looking at the ethical, legal and social implications of our technologies, particularly as they become powerful and democratized in a way," reveals John Everett, deputy director of DARPA's Information Integration Office. Questions abound regarding the ethics and legal implications of AI, such as who is responsible if an self-driving automobile runs over a pedestrian, or whether military weapon systems should have a "human in the loop" controlling unmanned systems to prevent mistakes on the battlefield. Those questions become more acute as AI becomes more prevalent. "A lot of the technology of the 20th century was not widely accessible to people. You have high school students editing genes," Everett notes.

The government needs to make targeted investments in artificial intelligence to continue the country's global leadership in the burgeoning industry and prepare Americans for a changing workforce, according to technology experts. Policymakers must to limit regulations on artificial intelligence, create more job retraining programs and invest more heavily in research the private sector may not have incentives to pursue, panelists said Thursday at a forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The discussion coincided with the release of a report from CSIS and Booz Allen Hamilton detailing key factors the government should consider when creating a national strategy for artificial intelligence innovation. "A much as other countries are going to be a part of the development of this technology, the U.S. needs to lead and needs to invest [in artificial intelligence] because this technology has huge potential implications for us," said Will Carter, deputy director and fellow at the CSIS Technology Policy Program, who co-authored the report. Artificial intelligence research and procurement constitutes a "relatively small" portion of the federal budget, Carter said, but it's expected "to generate the bulk of our next generation of capabilities."