“Technology Roulette: Managing Loss of Control as Many Militaries Pursue Technological Superiority” Report Launch

Watch the launch of the Honorable Dr. Richard Danzig’s new report “Technology Roulette: Managing Loss of Control as Many Militaries Pursue Technological Superiority.”

Featuring

• The Honorable Dr. Richard Danzig, Former Secretary of the Navy and Senior Advisor for the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
• General James E. Cartwright (USMC, Ret.), Former Vice Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Inaugural Harold Brown Chairholder at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) 
• Dr. Jeff Alstott, Program Manager at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)
• Dr. Valerie Browning, Director of the Defense Sciences Office (DSO) at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
• Hosted by Paul Scharre, Director of the CNAS Technology & National Security Program

About the Report

The report acknowledges that the pursuit of military technological superiority is an appropriate priority for U.S. national security. It observes, however, that the achievement of this superiority would not be synonymous with security. The Honorable Dr. Danzig, a former Secretary of the Navy, argues that American and foreign experience demonstrate that technologies will have unexpected consequences even when considerable care is taken to control them. As technologies proliferate among militaries, the associated volume and complexity of these new technologies will increase these risks and place great destructive power in the hands of actors whose safety priorities and standards are likely to be less ambitious and well-funded than American programs. Deterrence is not an effective tool for reducing accidents and emergent effects. Different instruments are required to reduce these risks. The report offers five recommendations focused on how, with more attention, the U.S. working with allies and, notably, with potential opponents, can dampen the likely increase in accidents and moderate adverse consequences when they occur.