Counter Autonomy: Executive Summary

Abstract

As rapid technological advances in autonomy and artificial intelligence continue, countering adversary autonomous physical and information systems will be a critical line of effort in future military operations. The threat of adversary autonomous systems will be present in all phases of conflict and across all domains land, sea, air, space, and cyberspace. Existing capabilities may be adequate for countering some autonomous threats, but the emerging nature of the threat will necessitate some novel tactics, techniques, and procedures as well. With autonomy as an emerging capability for the Department, counter autonomy is even more nascent. The establishment of an organizational focal point within the Department is critical to fully realizing the nature of this threat and implementing policies and strategies to mitigate it. There are few counter autonomy and counter artificial intelligence programs throughout the Department or the U.S. Government as a whole. A senior-level advocate for counter autonomy and counter artificial intelligence should advise the Department when and if new initiatives are needed, and when counter autonomy and counter artificial intelligence considerations should be integrated into existing initiatives. The Task Force developed a series of recommendations that, if adopted, will position the Department to successfully counter autonomous systems in future operations. I support the recommendations detailed in this report and urge the Department to adopt and implement them.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2020
Accession Number
AD1112065

Entities

People

  • James Carlini
  • Mark Maybury

Organizations

  • Defense Science Board

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Autonomous Systems
  • Autonomous Weapons
  • Autonomy
  • Cyberspace
  • Cyberspace Operations
  • Department Of Defense
  • Electronic Warfare
  • Engineering
  • Governments
  • Ground Control Stations
  • Information Operations
  • Machine Learning
  • Military Operations
  • Military Personnel
  • Security
  • Systems Engineering
  • Task Forces
  • Test And Evaluation
  • United States
  • Unmanned Aerial Systems
  • Unmanned Ground Systems

Readers

  • Economics
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Autonomous Capabilities and Mission Reconnaissance.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - DoD AI Strategy
  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - UAVs
  • Cyber
  • Space
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers