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The Pentagon Is Using China to Scare Tech Companies Into Working With the Military
‘We are engaged in an epic race for A.I. supremacy’
Tech companies like Google and Amazon are facing new pressure from United States officials to build software for the American military. Without the aid of these companies, officials warn, the U.S. military could find itself outmatched in conflicts against countries like China, which is investing billions into artificial intelligence.
Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, who recently spoke at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence conference in Washington, D.C., said that whether or not Silicon Valley chooses to work on U.S. defense projects could decide the future world order. Esper framed the choice in dramatic terms: a future of global authoritarianism or global democracy.
“The real question is whether we let authoritarian governments dominate A.I., and by extension the battlefield,” Esper said. “Or whether industry, the United States military, and our partners can work together to lead the world in responsible A.I. research and application.”
What alarms officials like New York Rep. Elise Stefanik and former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work, who both spoke at the conference, are statements like the one made by…
