The Biden Administration today is issuing broad orders for leveraging AI for U.S. national security, directing the government to ensure that the United States keeps the global lead in developing the emerging technology while ensuring the work is protected from foreign adversaries.

In addition, the AI-focused national security memorandum wants government agencies to protect the technology supply chain – noting in particular the growing domestic AI semiconductor industry being fueled by the CHIPS Act in 2022 – ensure the innovation of AI aligns with the country’s democratic values, collaborate with overseas allies, and expand the support of AI companies developing the technology.

That includes pushing forward with the National AI Research Resource, an initiative already in pilot to help researchers at universities and small businesses conduct their AI work. The fact sheet for the memorandum notes that “AI is moving too fast, and is too complex, for us to rely exclusively on a small cohort of large firms; we need to empower and learn from a full range of talented individuals and institutions who care about making AI safe, secure, and trustworthy.”

The White House also is calling for the creation of a national security-focused framework for AI governance and risk management and is designating the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) AI Safety Institute as the AI industry’s primary government contact.

In a briefing with journalist this week, a senior administration official listed the United States’ leadership in AI hardware, systems, and companies, with a growing AI chip supply chain expected to develop.

“The innovation that’s happened, particularly in this current wave of frontier artificial intelligence, has really been driven by the private sector,” said the official, who was unnamed in the transcript from the briefing. “And it’s critical that we continue to both foster that leadership but ensure that the government, and particularly with this National Security Memorandum, ensure that our national security agencies are adopting these technologies in ways that align with our values.”

Falling Behind is Not an Option

Failing to do this, take advantage of the leadership position, or adopt the technology “could put us at risk of a strategic surprise by our rivals, such as China. And … there are very clear national security applications of artificial intelligence, including in areas like cybersecurity and counter-intelligence, not to mention the broad array of logistics and other activities that support military operations.”

President Biden has put a federal focus on AI since issuing his executive order a year go regarding the safe and secure development of AI, and agencies since have used carrots and sticks to try to guide the innovation and use of the technology. In his order, Biden noted that “responsible AI use has the potential to help solve urgent challenges while making our world more prosperous, productive, innovative, and secure.  At the same time, irresponsible use could exacerbate societal harms such as fraud, discrimination, bias, and disinformation; displace and disempower workers; stifle competition; and pose risks to national security.”

In the order, the president directed that a national security memorandum for AI be developed that would include guidelines that would thread the needle of ensuring the United States keeps its lead in AI innovation over rival countries that want to use the technology to harm the United States’ national security while ensuring the work done here upholds the nation’s values and public trust.

The Need to Develop, Use AI

“Because countries like China recognize similar opportunities to modernize and revolutionize their own military and intelligence capabilities using artificial intelligence, it’s particularly imperative that we accelerate our national security community’s adoption and use of cutting-edge AI capabilities to maintain our competitive edge,” the official said.

Chris Hatter, COO and CISO of AI applications security testing firm Qwiet.Ai, said it’s important for the United States to set guidelines for the technology for both national security and economic reasons.

“The future of kinetic and cyber offense and defense is AI based,” Hatter said. “Today and in the future, AI will play a more prominent role in our daily lives. As a society, we’ll become more efficient as AI enhances the economic output of humans.”

That said, U.S. leaders need to ensure the country doesn’t fall behind “in the most consequential technology shift of our time. AI, when harnessed appropriately, has the ability to propel us into the future economically and militarily. Economically, the U.S. has been dominant for a while. If we fall behind in the AI race, you’ll see other countries take our innovation mantle in both software and hardware. AI is primed to influence every facet of life from agriculture, to healthcare, to transportation. We need to lead the world.”

Guidelines are Quality Control

Guidelines like those laid out in the memorandum are important when talking about technologies like AI, according to Jeffrey Zampieron, distinguished software engineer at defense technology firm Raft. He equated such guidelines with quality control, saying the goal is to ensure that AI behaves in a manner that is safe and efficacious for the application of interest.

They also give creators structured and consistent ways to evaluate their work and consumers the confidence the technology will work as intended. Zampieron also touched on the national security aspect.

“AI has enormous potential for capability improvements,” he said. “Processing data at mission speed. Faster reaction times and smarter separation of the relevant from the irrelevant. AI can either do the job best, faster, and cheaper and … assist humans and make us more effective. If we don’t leverage these improvements, we will be at a substantial disadvantage to peer and near-peer adversaries.”