Pentagon will be increasing their spending on a secret research which uses artificial intelligence to foresee launching of a nuclear-capable missile. According to Reuters, the system will also track and target mobile launchers in North Korea and the rest of the world.
Reuters reports that the research is kept top secret, and the few publicly available details about it are buried under a layer of nearly impenetrable jargon in the latest Pentagon budget.
However, U.S. officials familiar with the research said that there are multiple classified programs now underway which plan to use AI-driven systems to better protect the United States against a potential nuclear missile strike.
If the system proves to be operational it will be able to think for itself, analyzing huge amounts of data, including satellite imagery, with a speed and accuracy beyond the capability of humans.
The AI will be looking for signs of preparations for a missile launch, and if it finds something it will report to U.S. government officials who would act on it.
If warned on time the U.S. government would be able to pursue diplomatic options or, in the case of an imminent attack, the military would have more time to try to destroy the missiles before they were launched, or try to intercept them.
“We should be doing everything in our power to find that missile before they launch it and make it increasingly harder to get it off (the ground),” one of the officials said.
According to budget documents, Trump’s administration has allocated $83 million in funds for just one of the AI-driven missile programs.
Although the amount is relatively small compared to other military projects, it shows the need and the importance of AI-powered anti-missile systems at a time when the U.S. is faced with new arms race with Russia and a significant nuclear weapons threat from North Korea and Iran.
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