Remarks of Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen H. Hicks at the Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Defense Forum (As Delivered)

Good morning everyone, and welcome to the 2024 Responsible AI in Defense Forum.

Today - as you collaborate across governments, companies, universities, and non-profits - you're carrying on a legacy going back over 60 years, when the Defense Department seeded the first artificial intelligence academic research hubs across America.

It's a legacy that linked the postwar, post-Cold War, and post-9/11 eras - as DoD invested and fielded early data and AI-enabled systems, from air defense networks to logistics planning tools.

Over the last dozen years, as advances in machine learning yielded new breakthroughs, we've worked hard at the Pentagon to be a global leader in establishing responsible policies for military use of autonomous systems and AI. Lately, we've only doubled down on that commitment. And our leadership put us ahead of the curve in implementing the President's executive order on safe, secure, and trustworthy AI. As a result, our AI is more resilient and effective than ever.

Since 2021, we've accelerated our drive toward a more modernized, data-driven, and AI-empowered U.S. military. At the same time:

We affirmed our adherence to ethical AI principles.

We updated DoD responsible-use policies and directives, to keep pace with new tech and lead on trust and safety.

And we issued new strategies, guidelines, guardrails, and practical toolkits and apps that turn our values into action.

We're glad those resources are now used by many outside DoD - like other U.S. agencies, international allies and partners, and leading tech companies.

We're also glad that almost 60 nations now endorse, as we do, the Political Declaration on responsible military use of AI and autonomy.

And the President's AI National Security Memorandum, released last week, not only galvanizes our role in advancing international AI governance - it also emphasizes the importance of trustworthy AI aligned to democratic values.

So I can't overstate the importance of this work. Because our values not only bring us together; they set us apart from our strategic competitors.

We don't use data and AI to censor, repress or disempower people - just as we don't seek to control innovation or make it toe the party line. Because we know that ingenuity and creativity thrive best in open societies powered by free minds, free markets, and free people.

That's why we're committed to living the values we defend. And that commitment requires all of us to work together.

From the beginning, DoD's approach to responsible AI has been guided by our understanding that AI will only be used and effective where it is trusted and trustworthy. Today we're at the forefront of accelerating the adoption of trusted AI, and we can't afford to fall behind.

So we need your help to stay in the lead: Not just with speed and security, but also safety. Not just rapidly, but also responsibly.

We don't have the luxury of choosing one or the other. It has to be both.

For the good of our nations. For the good of the mission. For the good of the world. Thank you.

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