Robotics and Autonomous Systems

Robotics and Autonomous systems (RAS) are poised to dramatically impact the concept of technological superiority, a primary source of national power. Vilified in the entertainment media, detested by labor unions, and declared, "more dangerous than nuclear weapons," by industry magnates such as Elon Musk, our culture is just beginning to see RAS as enhancing our lives rather than threatening them. But a tectonic shift in thinking in the last few years has placed RAS at the core of serious security and business strategies. When Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), the internet’s precursor, was created no one could envision the way we communicate, educate, entertain, and work today. The revolution with RAS and artificial intelligence (AI) will be even more profound. Machine autonomy will expand human capability in ways that we cannot yet imagine—but need to be ready for.

An international competition in machine autonomy has begun and America’s leadership in this race is crucial. In July 2017, the Chinese State Council announced their New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan in which they made achieving AI a strategic priority. The Council articulated that the Chinese government’s intent is to treat machine autonomy as the equivalent of the Apollo lunar missions. In doing so, China initiated a crash program that has economic and security ramifications for the world. This is not a race that America can afford to lose, as even Vladimir Putin understands that, “Whoever becomes the leader in [AI] will become the ruler of the world.”

In the 2017 National Security Strategy and 2018 National Defense Strategy, the United States (U.S.) envisions a strategic environment, “characterized by overt challenges to the free and open international order and the re-emergence of long-term, strategic competition between nations.” Both China and Russia are identified as revisionist powers employing sharp power and hybrid warfare, “to shape a world consistent with their authoritarian model—gaining veto authority over other nations’ economic, diplomatic, and security decisions.” Both nations have instituted government-directed programs to usurp America’s digital supremacy and thereby initiated a contest that will rival the space race in the magnitude of its geo-political, economic, cultural, and security consequences. How can the U.S. realize machine autonomy in order to assure America’s technological leadership, prosperity, and future security?

When one thinks about machine autonomy, one traditionally thinks of physical devices that are electrical or digital, but they are more than just the robot, drone, or algorithm. Machine autonomy should be seen as complex systems of systems and their practical development depends upon advancements in four enabling pillars: technology, society, governance, and industry. To date, there has been an unsynchronized approach to these pillars: technological innovation is disjointed, distributed across the country in nodes of ingenuity; formal education in appropriate Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields is not keeping up with demand; an effective policy and governance dialogue has been slow to adapt or nonexistent; and industry is diverging from national security interests. This lack of coherent development between these pillars undermines our ability to effectively harness the technologies for national security. Maintaining our role as a global superpower necessitates the formulation of an AI national strategy to assure our technological competitive advantage. A coherent strategy will enable each pillar to support the other as technology develops. This will better empower the government to protect the rights, freedoms, and privacy of our citizens; it will also help our workforce and economy—a source of national strength.

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