"DARPA to Address Ethical Challenges of AI in Military Operations with ASIMOV Project"

U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials are set to discuss the ethical and technical dimensions of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine autonomy into future military operations during the Autonomy Standards and Ideals with Military Operational Values (ASIMOV) project. The briefing, scheduled for January 29, 2024, aims to explore benchmarks for measuring the ethical complexities and readiness of autonomous systems in military settings.

The ASIMOV initiative focuses on establishing standards to assess the ethical challenges associated with military machine autonomy. Unlike developing autonomous systems or algorithms, the program's primary goal is to create an ethical autonomy language enabling the evaluation of specific military scenarios and the ethical performance of autonomous systems within those scenarios.

Participants in the ASIMOV Proposers Day will be tasked with developing prototype modeling environments to assess military scenarios for machine automation and ethical difficulties. Successful outcomes may result in ASIMOV setting standards for evaluating future autonomous systems.

The event's objectives include introducing the ASIMOV program vision and goals to industry, academia, and government, outlining the mechanics of DARPA programs and milestones, and fostering collaboration among potential bidders. Attendees will have the opportunity to deliver brief "lightning talks" outlining their teaming interests and capabilities, as well as engage in one-on-one sessions with the ASIMOV program manager.