China has surpassed the United States in artificial intelligence, the key to leading global technological development and, consequently, positioning itself as a dominant power on the geopolitical scene . But what is surprising of all is that this statement does not come from the Asian country, but from a former Pentagon chief.
“We have no chance of competing against China in 15 or 20 years. At this moment, it is already a fact ”, assures Nicolas Chaillan, who was director of software at the headquarters of the Department of Defense in Washington and resigned his position in protest for the slowness of the transformation Army technology.
Chaillan sees emerging technologies like artificial intelligence as critical to America's future. In that sense, he explains to the Financial Times that in today's interconnected world it takes on a more relevant role than big-budget fifth-generation fighter jets like the F-35.
“If a war is needed or not, it is something anecdotal,” he points out in relation to the fact that China is destined to become a dominant actor without an armed confrontation, but rather controlling everything thanks to artificial intelligence . And, as if this were not enough, he assures that US cyber defense in some departments is at “kindergarten level”.
The expert also acknowledges that part of the US slowness to react is due to the reluctance of tech giants like Google to help with the Defense Department. On the contrary, he told FT that in China companies are obliged to work with Beijing something that favors their advances in artificial intelligence.
United States, China and artificial intelligence
Credit: US Fleet Cyber Command A congressionally mandated national security commission's own assessments predict that China, the world's second-largest economy, could dominate many of the key emerging technologies within about a decade. Among them is artificial intelligence, which is receiving a “ massive investment without taking ethics into account “.
Following his stint at the Department of Homeland Security, where he worked to modernize the cybersecurity system, Nicolas Chaillan became the Pentagon's first chief software officer. However, their criticisms against the military commanders and lack of advances in artificial intelligence did not take long to emerge.
He said that many of the officers in charge of cyber initiatives did not have the necessary experience. He denounced slowness and lack of funding. He also said that he spent much of his time “ fixing basic things in the cloud and laptops ” instead of innovating.
“We are building a critical infrastructure to fail,” he said in his resignation letter. “We wouldn't put a pilot in the cockpit without extensive flight training; Why would we expect someone with no IT experience to be close to success? (…) While we was wasting time in the bureaucracy, our adversaries advanced further, “he added.
