The US governmentʼs AI plans have taken a one-sided path thats raising eyebrows in tech circles. Last fall (around oct-24) Joe Bidenʼs administration released plans focused heavily on large-scale AI systems similar to ChatGPT; this narrow focus might be a risky bet
The tech world is split between two main ideas about AIs future. Some experts - like those at companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic - think big general-purpose AI will change everything: they predict these systems could become smarter than humans. Others say thats not likely and smaller specialized AI is just as important; for example AI that helps with specific tasks like protein research
- Current war-related AI success comes from narrow systems
- Most drone control systems use specialized AI
- Weapon development relies on focused AI models
- Image recognition - key for military use - needs specific AI
Meanwhile China is moving forward with practical AI use-cases (partly because they cant get advanced chips for big AI systems). Theyʼre getting really good at things like drone tech and image processing - which could be more useful in real-world situations
The governments focus on big AI systems - where America leads anyway - seems odd when you look at areas where competition with China is closer. While US tech giants pour resources into super-advanced AI that might not work out China is building lots of small but effective systems
A better plan would balance both approaches: supporting big AI projects while also pushing forward with specialized systems. The Defense Department should look into areas like bio-tech materials and flight tech where focused AI could make big changes. Its also important to think about chip making - China leads in basic chips that run simpler AI‚ and thats becoming a problem
The tech world cant predict whats next - just look at how crypto and 3d printing didnt live up to the hype back in early 2010s. Smart planning means not putting all your chips on one bet; instead spread them around to cover all possible futures