Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Janet Abou-Elias, Lillian Mauldin, & William Hartung
“The Pentagon is beginning to back its rhetoric on emerging technology with resources. The department’s Office of Strategic Capital now has the authority to grant executive loans and loan guarantees to invest in firms researching and developing 14 ‘critical technologies,’ including hypersonics, quantum computing, microelectronics, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence. … Proponents argue that the rapid development and deployment of autonomous systems, pilotless vehicles, and hypersonic weapons will shorten the time between recognizing a potential threat and destroying it — a process analysts and military leaders often refer to as shortening the ‘kill chain.’ This shift is portrayed as a positive development, when in fact it could easily enable deadly escalations by accident or design.” (04/16/24)