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Artificial Intelligence

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Technology, machines, and software that have the ability to be self-directed and learn from their actions are generally known as artificial intelligence. In the early days of computing, RAND researchers examined and tried to develop such technology and apply it for use in political and military simulations.

Article

How Artificial Intelligence Could Increase the Risk of Nuclear War

Apr 24, 2018

Advances in AI have provoked a new kind of arms race among nuclear powers. This technology could challenge the basic rules of nuclear deterrence and lead to catastrophic miscalculations.
Report

A Brief History of Artificial Intelligence

Dec 1, 1986

A brief history of RAND's research in artificial intelligence (AI) and expert systems from the development of one of the first stored-program digital computers, the JOHNNIAC, to the current work on AI technology and its uses, including work on expert systems, knowledge-based simulation, and human-oriented environments.

Explore Artificial Intelligence

Report

The Emerging Risk of Virtual Societal Warfare

Living in an information society opens unprecedented opportunities for hostile rivals to cause disruption, delay, inefficiency, and active harm. Social manipulation techniques are evolving beyond disinformation and cyberattacks on infrastructure sites. How can democracies protect themselves?

Oct 9, 2019
Commentary

A Code of Conduct for AI in Defense Should Be an Extension of Other Military Codes

An AI code of conduct for defense should look a lot like all other defense codes of conduct. A global society that would create the Geneva Convention is a society that believes in a moral code for warfare, and this same moral code could extend into its weaponized algorithms.

Sep 11, 2019
Q&A

Intel, Ethics, and Emerging Tech: Q&A with Cortney Weinbaum

Cortney Weinbaum studies topics related to intelligence and cyber policy as a senior management scientist at RAND. In this interview, she discusses challenges facing the intelligence community, the risks of using AI as a solution, and ethics in scientific research.

Aug 23, 2019
Report

Addressing the Challenges of Algorithmic Equity

Social institutions increasingly use algorithms for decisionmaking purposes. How do different perspectives on equity or fairness inform the use of algorithms in the context of auto insurance pricing, job recruitment, and criminal justice?

Jul 11, 2019
Periodical

Periodical

RAND Review: July-August 2019

This issue spotlights a strategy to reduce roadway deaths to zero; a school principal initiative that yielded positive results for schools and students; and a data-driven effort to enhance equity in a major U.S. city.

Jul 1, 2019
Commentary

Here's What an AI Code of Conduct for the Pentagon Might Look Like

Advocates want a code of conduct for how artificial intelligence will be used and oversight to ensure it is being followed. DoD could identify areas where it might use AI in the foreseeable future and set rules and guidelines for business uses, non-lethal military uses, and lethal uses.

Jun 24, 2019
Report

Technology and Work Worth Doing (Not Jobs) Post-AlphaGo: A World-Building Workshop on the Future of Artificial Intelligence

This report summarizes a 2018 workshop that gathered a small group of innovative thinkers to engage in an approach called large-scale speculative design to sketch desirable future worlds that could be enabled by artificial intelligence.

Jun 21, 2019
Journal Article

Bezos World or Levelers: Can We Choose Our Scenario?

This essay explores how AI might be used to enable fundamentally different future worlds and how one such future might be enabled by AI algorithms with different goals and functions than those most common today.

Mar 28, 2019
Periodical

Periodical

RAND Review: March-April 2019

This issue explores resilience and adaptation strategies researchers can pursue to address the impacts of climate change; security challenges posed by artificial intelligence and the speed at which technology is transforming society; and more.

Mar 4, 2019
Q&A

The Promise and Perils of AI: Q&A with Douglas Yeung

Douglas Yeung, a social psychologist at RAND, discusses how any technology reflects the values, norms, and biases of its creators. Bias in artificial intelligence could have unintended consequences. He also warns that cyber attackers could deliberately introduce bias into AI systems.

Feb 27, 2019
Report

Artificial Intelligence Applications to Support Teachers

Artificial intelligence could support teachers rather than replace them. But before the promise of AI in the classroom can be realized, risks and technical challenges must be addressed.

Jan 23, 2019
Commentary

Does the United States Face an AI Ethics Gap?

Instead of worrying about an artificial intelligence “ethics gap,” U.S. policymakers and the military community could embrace a leadership role in AI ethics. This may help ensure that the AI arms race doesn't become a race to the bottom.

Jan 11, 2019
Commentary

Intentional Bias Is Another Way Artificial Intelligence Could Hurt Us

Conversations about unconscious bias in artificial intelligence often focus on algorithms unintentionally causing disproportionate harm to entire swaths of society. But the problem could run much deeper. Society should be on guard for the possibility that nefarious actors could deliberately introduce bias into AI systems.

Oct 22, 2018
Commentary

Keeping Artificial Intelligence Accountable to Humans

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are often only as intelligent and fair as the data used to train them. To enable AI that frees humans from bias instead of reinforcing it, experts and regulators must think more deeply not only about what AI can do, but what it should do—and then teach it how.

Aug 20, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Intelligence in a Data-Driven Age

The Intelligence Community is nearing critical decisions on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Jul 13, 2018
Commentary

New Technologies Could Help Small Groups Wreak Large-Scale Havoc

Lone wolves or small groups could use emerging technologies, such as drones or AI, for nefarious purposes. The threat is even greater when these technologies are used along with disinformation spread over social media.

Jun 18, 2018
Commentary

Will Artificial Intelligence Undermine Nuclear Stability?

In the coming years, AI-enabled progress in tracking and targeting adversaries' nuclear weapons could undermine the foundations of nuclear stability. The chance that AI will someday be able to guide strategy decisions about escalation or even launching nuclear weapons is real.

May 1, 2018
Q&A

The Human Side of Artificial Intelligence: Q&A with Osonde Osoba

Osonde Osoba has been exploring AI since age 15. He says it's less about the intelligence and more about being able to capture how humans think. He is developing AI to improve planning and is also studying fairness in algorithmic decisionmaking in insurance pricing and criminal justice.

May 1, 2018
Periodical

Periodical

RAND Review: May-June 2018

This issue features research on preventing child abuse and neglect and improving outcomes for children in the U.S. child-welfare system; a look back on RAND's 70 years of innovation; and an exploration of the human side of artificial intelligence.

Apr 30, 2018
Report

Discontinuities and Distractions: Rethinking Security for the Year 2040

As part of its Security 2040 initiative, RAND convened a workshop of experts to discuss trends that could shape the world through the year 2040.

Apr 27, 2018

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RAND Topic:
Artificial Intelligence

Topic Synonyms:
AI

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