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March 1, 2018

Call For U.S. Machine Intelligence Plan Stresses Trust

(Photon photo/Shutterstock)

The rise of machine intelligence has prompted policy wonks to weigh in with a list of caveats along with recommendations for preserving the American technology lead in AI and machine learning while initiating the process of managing future risks.

The respected Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a report on Thursday (March 1) calling for a national machine intelligence strategy. Underwritten by U.S. technology contractor Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH), the study takes a “look-before-you-leap” approach to machine intelligence development while advocating steps for maintaining the current U.S. lead.

The report recommends “safe and responsible” development of machine intelligence by funding long-term R&D in areas the private sector has little incentive to invest. Along with risky, long term research, the government should focus on national security applications and “systems of ethics and control” akin to government agencies that help referee disputes over technology standards.

The study also addresses growing concerns about the unforeseen consequences of machine learning deployments, acknowledging the need to “manage public anxiety.”

“While the apocalyptic warnings voiced by some in the tech community are overblown, [machine intelligence] systems will raise new challenges in the areas of privacy, algorithmic bias, system safety and control,” the report states. “The U.S. government can help confront these risks by leading in the development of safety, ethics, and control standards for [machine intelligence], and working with the private sector to develop methods of testing and certification for [those] systems.”

Read the full story at sister website EnterpriseTech.com.

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