he openly advocated the weaponization of ai: under great power competition, the united states must be prepared at all times
2024-09-23
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"wars in the age of artificial intelligence require new weapons." on september 21, local time, the financial times of the united kingdom published an article signed by former google ceo eric schmidt with this title.
schmidt, who has served the u.s. department of defense for a long time, has exaggerated the "china threat theory" on various occasions in recent years.lobbying the us congress and the white house to increase investment in areas such as artificial intelligence and 5gas an investor in several defense startups, schmidt called on the united states to strengthen its incentives for such companies, and he also advocated the development and adoption of artificial intelligence weapons.
he wrote at the beginning of the article that against the backdrop of the russia-ukraine conflict, the gaza war and great power competition, the world is becoming more dangerous, and as the defense budgets of various countries continue to rise, the defense industry is facing development opportunities.
the article states that this defense boom coincides with the ai revolution. with the increase in defense budgets and the advent of the ai revolution, procurement decision-makers should favor weapon systems that are more affordable, affordable, and more abundant. therefore, start-ups and defense unicorns will have more opportunities. the reason why he invests in start-ups is that the united states needs new capabilities to compete in this changing world.
schmidt believes that the united states should learn many lessons from the russian-ukrainian conflict. first, increasing defense spending and replacing weapons shipped to ukraine is "important" because it can not only "replenish the us weapons inventory, but also re-equip the weapons inventory and the defense industry that supplies them."
schmidt said more funds should be invested in research and development, "which will enable us to one day use long-range autonomous drones to supplement the f-35 fighter and its surrounding equipment, including aerial refueling tankers and ground personnel, if not replace it." he called for strengthening incentives for u.s. defense start-ups to "create a different future for american weapons and equipment."
data map of eric schmidt, former ceo of google
secondly, schmidt said the united states needs systems that can communicate effectively in an environment full of electronic warfare. he said that it is a challenge to target enemy forces 100 kilometers away under gps denial and deception, so "weapons and systems that can operate reliably even when traditional methods fail" are needed, including gps alternatives such as quantum navigation and visual odometry. "we need to be ready for battle anytime, anywhere," schmidt said.
third, schmidt cited the example of using a $4 million patriot missile to intercept a $50,000 shahed drone, as was done in ukraine, as "unsustainable." he also mentioned china, saying that in the united states, some people are worried that a few df-21 or df-26 anti-ship ballistic missiles can destroy a u.s. aircraft carrier, its onboard equipment, and 6,000 crew members, "and the cost is less than 1% of the $13 billion aircraft carrier."
"to combat these fears, we need cheaper, more numerous alternatives that leverage connected and flexible software. this will require procurement reforms that weigh total cost and supply chain resilience against other factors such as performance and adaptability," the article reads.
schmidt said that certain unfavorable factors may prevent the us defense budget from increasing, and the sharp increase in personnel costs in existing defense spending may also squeeze out opportunities for modernization and new weapons development.
despite this, he said the united states is likely to continue to increase its defense spending. schmidt mentioned that roger wicker, a republican senator and member of the senate armed services committee, had previously proposed a significant increase in u.s. defense spending to about 5% of gdp.
in addition, there are some signs that the united states is taking innovation seriously. according to the national defense authorization act, the budget of the defense innovation unit increased fivefold last year to nearly $1 billion. "this is just the beginning," schmidt said.
the article also stated that the us actions have reverberated around the world. in recent years, the number of nato countries with defense spending targets of 2% or more of gdp has increased from 9 in 2020 to 23 this year. new initiatives are also emerging, such as the north atlantic defense innovation accelerator (diana) and the nato innovation fund (nif), which provides funding for western artificial intelligence technology.
at the end of the article, schmidt promoted ai weapons again. he said that the united states "must think strategically about our goals and the best way to achieve them." "we may have a lot of abrams tanks, but not every problem is a nail (referring to breaking through limited thinking). this is why innovation is so important. we can't waste this opportunity and just buy weapons we have used in past wars. the era of artificial intelligence requires us to invent, transform and adopt weapons that use artificial intelligence."
schmidt served as ceo of google from 2001 to 2011, but in addition to being a wall street tech tycoon, his network of interests has spread across the white house, the pentagon and even the cia over the years, making him a very influential figure in washington.
william hartung, a senior fellow at the quincy institute of national affairs, a washington think tank, described schmidt in an article as "a key figure committed to building a high-tech war machine." hartung pointed out that although schmidt has realized the potential dangers of artificial intelligence, he is still an important figure in promoting the military application of artificial intelligence.
in october 2022, the american technology media "protocol" directly pointed out that schmidt abused his power for personal gain through the "revolving door" of politics and business. while serving as chairman of the u.s. department of defense innovation advisory board and the artificial intelligence national security commission, he obtained high-value contracts for many companies he invested in.
according to the campaign for accountability, a u.s. technology transparency project, schmidt "invested millions of dollars in more than a half-dozen defense startups" and may have used his influence to direct public funds to the startups he invested in.
in recent years, schmidt has repeatedly stressed the importance of artificial intelligence to national security in public speeches, exaggerating the "china threat theory" and advocating a "new technological cold war" between china and the united states. his actions of making a lot of money by advocating the "cold war" have also aroused the vigilance of people in the american technology community.
nathan myhrvold, former microsoft chief technology officer, said he agrees with the white house and congress on investing more in technology, “but the problem is, when you gain power by scaring people with a rhetoric of bellicosity, fear and conflict,"when you don't get support, you run into a real problem - you might end up shooting yourself in the foot."
