{"id":28673,"date":"2018-06-25T18:58:29","date_gmt":"2018-06-25T18:58:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/06\/25\/what-you-need-to-be-reading-and-watching-to-become-an-ai-thought-leader\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:58:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:58:57","slug":"what-you-need-to-be-reading-and-watching-to-become-an-ai-thought-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/pentagon\/2018\/06\/25\/what-you-need-to-be-reading-and-watching-to-become-an-ai-thought-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"What you need to be reading and watching to become an AI thought leader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 It\u2019s no secret that former Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work is one of the biggest advocates for artificial intelligence inside the Beltway. Work was one of the Defense Department\u2019s key architects of the Third Offset Strategy, which focused on machine learning, and led the one of department\u2019s first forays with artificial intelligence in April 2017, establishing the drone footage analysis initiative Project Maven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how does Work, a former Marine Corps artillerymen, become Washington\u2019s AI savant? By reading and watching a lot<\/i> of science fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At an Atlantic Council conference<\/a> in 2016 Work said, \u201cPeople have been thinking about [artificial intelligence] for quite some time and you can learn very interesting things [from] a lot of the stuff that you read in science fiction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a new primer<\/a> from the Center for New American Security\u2019s technology and national security program released earlier this month, Work was at it again, discussing his favorite science fiction pieces.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some of the cultural touchstones that Work has mentioned in his speeches and writings that have influenced his thinking on the subject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metropolis<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This 1927 German silent-film is one of the first full-length science fiction films ever made. The movie tells the story of an inventor who creates a robot to fill the role of his deceased lover, but, as Work notes in the preface of the CNAS AI primer,<\/a> \u201c<\/b>the robot gets other ideas and ultimately holds sway over an entire city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Work, Metropolis explores the possibility of human enslavement by intelligent machines, one of the main concerns regarding artificial intelligence. And while he is a proponent of AI capabilities, stories like Metropolis remind him of the dangers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking at CNAS on June 21, <\/a>Work compared China\u2019s forays into facial recognition technology to the robot in Metropolis. \u201cThe most scary thing about AI is the means that the government can use it to control and influence its population,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iron Man and Terminator<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who has followed Work\u2019s thinking on this subject knows that he often describes DoD\u2019s vision for artificial intelligence as more like Iron Man than Terminator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work has described the goal for DoD\u2019s AI research programs as similar to JARVIS or FRIDAY, the two AI systems that power Tony Stark\u2019s iconic suit in the Marvel films, essentially <\/b>\u201ca machine to assist a human where the human is still in control in all matters, in all<\/i> matters, but the machine makes the human much more powerful and much more capable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just don\u2019t talk about the Terminator. The completely autonomous killing machine popularized by Arnold Schwarzenegger is something of a nemesis for Work, who instead envisions systems that involve man-machine teaming that enhance human decision-making and capabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\t