Global Courant
Members of the House Armed Services Committee are demanding several updates from the Pentagon on whether it is effectively using artificial intelligence to defend against growing threats from China and other adversaries.
The committee released its annual proposal on Monday for the defense policy bill known as the National Defense Authorization Act, which will be considered by several subcommittees beginning Tuesday. The portion of the bill dealing with cyber and information technology was accompanied by several demands for updates on the Department of Defense’s efforts to incorporate AI into its national security policies.
One of these demands directly concerns China, which the committee says has an increasing presence in disputed waters around the world that threaten US national security.
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Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is under pressure from Congress to explain how AI is being incorporated into the Pentagon’s national defense strategy. (Vano Shlamov/AFP via Getty Images)
“The commission is increasingly concerned about the ability of the United States to meet this threat because of the vastness of its maritime environment,” the text reads. “Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), powered by artificial intelligence (AI), would enhance the Navy’s ability to monitor the maritime environment, expand strategic planning activities, and expose emerging threats through lead generation.”
The committee asked the Department of Defense to brief its members on this issue by February about the current use of “AI-driven MDA systems” and how AI could further help the Navy quickly assess maritime traffic and detect potential threats. to establish.
Lawmakers on the committee said the Pentagon should also use AI to help warfighters detect and analyze signals in the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) that could indicate cyber and electronic warfare tactics.
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The House Armed Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., has released his new defense policy bill calling for several updates on AI. (Oliver Contreras/AFP)
“The ongoing conflict in Ukraine has exposed the threat posed by hostile electronic warfare systems,” the commission said. “Accordingly, the committee believes that the Department of Defense should pursue capabilities that give the warfighter the ability to maintain awareness of the EMS environment and rapidly develop understanding on the tactical side.”
The committee said special operations forces have already used AI-driven systems to detect EMS signals and the Pentagon should “increase adoption of such technologies.” It has asked the Ministry of Defense to inform the members of the committee about this matter before December 1.
Lawmakers took note of a broad plan from DOD to create a joint All-Domain Command and Control system that uses AI to assess data from a wide variety of military sensors and make it easier for military commanders to use real-time to make decisions. They also said the Air Force could benefit from a similar system and asked the Secretary of the Air Force to report back to the committee next January.
The committee urged the Pentagon to report on several other AI initiatives, including the creation of an “AI education strategy” aimed at training service members in the use of AI. Members want DOD to brief them on that topic in March.
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Concerns about China’s growing maritime presence is one reason House lawmakers want to ensure AI is used to boost US national security. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
By December, the committee wants DOD to inform lawmakers about the infrastructure needed to build AI capability and what the Pentagon is doing to create more “red teams” that test AI systems on the road before deployment.
Committee members also want officials to study how to develop autonomy software and ensure the military uses AI to support the next generation of military helicopters developed under the Future Vertical Lift program.
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In April, the US Central Command’s top AI adviser told Fox News Digital that the military hopes it can use AI to rapidly absorb data and help military leaders make faster decisions, but the adviser, Dr. Andrew Moore, said the goal is to hold humans accountable for these decisions, not AI systems.
Pete Kasperowicz is a political editor at Fox News Digital.
