“I’m less worried about rogue robots taking over the world in the future than rogue humans (or rogue nations) wreaking havoc with AI tools today. A new type of Cold War is under way, and the nation with the most-advanced AI will dominate. In the spirit of the football playoffs, it’s all about offense and defense.

On the military front, our conventional weaponry, as well as our ability to protect civil infrastructure, must keep pace with AI’s quantum speed. As Eric Schmidt pointed out, our military procurement system is not well-suited for AI innovation.

Here’s how I would describe the mismatch between military procurement and AI innovation. . .imagine pulling a plow with a Lamborghini. It’s a waste of the Lamborghini, the plow won’t work very well, and the whole thing will get stuck in the mud.

On the non-military fronts, we face attacks on the basic foundations of democratic society. These aren’t limited to attacks on freedom of speech, these are an assault on the deliberative process itself, as well as democratic principles and values.”

“Would we ever allow a foreign nation to use our citizens as unwitting guinea pigs in scientific experimentation? That’s what we face today. In combination, AI and social media can allow our global adversaries to engage in real-time experimentations on humans–specifically, on you and me. Our young people, in particular, are endless guinea pigs, being fed slightly varying diets as observers determine the exact amount of potion that will drive and sustain our reactions.

Press reports explain, for example, that social media magnifies hopelessness in teens and young adults by feeding them an endless torrent of information precisely tailored to mirror their deepest feelings. But why should we imagine the only aim is to magnify our own feelings? The technique also can be used to drive and direct our feelings.

Imagine endless deep-fake material created by state-sponsored bots designed to rivet the attention of young people, shift their views, and assure them that others think the same way. And then imagine the effects amplified through a campaign of poisoning training data by artificially elevating information in the data stream. This form of sustained, sophisticated campaign could have a widespread impact on public views, sowing disorder and discontent.

All of this can be done through messages that shape societal views on the democratic process and attempt to destabilize the nation. The challenge, at the end of the day, is to sustain a deliberative process when the “deliberative” messages we receive can be carefully curated and fed to us by global adversaries.

None of this is to suggest that we should halt or ban AI. Innovation moves forward, and we cannot behave like the original “saboteurs” throwing our sabots (shoes) into the machinery to stop industrialization. Instead, we should focus on maintaining our lead in the international race for AI technology. Like any other form of cold war, we have to guard against societal harms and destabilization beyond bullets or balustrades.”