CNAS Launches Artificial Intelligence Task Force

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is pleased to announce the launch of its Task Force on Artificial Intelligence and National Security, which will examine how the United States should respond to the national security challenges posed by artificial intelligence. The task force will be chaired by former Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert O. Work and Dr. Andrew Moore, Dean of the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University.

“The task force will draw together private industry leaders, former senior government officials, and academic experts to take on the challenges of the AI revolution,” said CNAS Senior Fellow Paul Scharre, who will serve as executive director of the AI Task Force. “I am thrilled to have such an impressive roster of national security leaders and artificial intelligence experts join us in this endeavor.”

“We find ourselves on the leading edge of new industrial and military revolutions, powered by AI; machine learning; and autonomous, unmanned systems and robots,” said Secretary Work. “The United States must consider and prepare for the associated national security challenges – whether in cybersecurity, surveillance, disinformation, or defense. CNAS’ AI Task Force will help frame the policy issues surrounding these unique challenges.”

Task force Co-Chair Dr. Andrew Moore said that a key tenet of this signature initiative rests in the importance of human judgment. “Central to all of this is ensuring that such systems work with humans in a way which empowers the human, not replaces the human, and which keeps ultimate decision authority with the human. That is why I am so excited by the mission of the task force.”

CNAS is joined in this effort by Amir Husain, founder and CEO of SparkCognition and author of The Sentient Machine: The Coming Age of Artificial Intelligence. “As a global pioneer in AI software, SparkCognition leads the intellectual debate on how AI will change national security,” Husain said. “Through this partnership with CNAS, we hope to further shape public discussions on this crucial topic and together advance the debate within the U.S. national security community on the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence.”

The AI Task Force is a component of CNAS’ multi-year Artificial Intelligence and Global Security Initiative. Task force members include:

Co-Chairs
Robert O. Work (Center for a New American Security) 
Andrew Moore (Carnegie Mellon University)

Executive Director
Paul Scharre (Center for a New American Security)

Research Director
Michael Horowitz (Center for a New American Security and University of Pennsylvania)

Members
Greg Akers (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
Tom Arseneault (BAE Systems, Inc.)
Dr. Mary "Missy" Cummings (Duke University)
Dr. Ed Felten (Princeton University)
Dr. Kathleen Fisher (Tufts University)
Michèle Flournoy (WestExec Advisors)
Chris Heinz (PNC Bank)
Amir Husain (SparkCognition)
Tim Hwang (Harvard-MIT Ethics and Governance of AI Initiative)
Jamil Jaffer (George Mason University)
Terah Lyons (Partnership on AI)
Dr. Lynne Parker (University of Tennesse, Knoxville)
Todd Rosenblum (National Security Outcomes)
Shivon Zilis (Neuralink and OpenAI)

Research Team
Greg Allen (Center for a New American Security)
Elsa Kania (Center for a New American Security)
Brendan McCord (Center for a New American Security)

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Cole Stevens at cstevens@cnas.org or call 202-695-8166.