Monday, August 05, 2019

THE FRENCH ARMY IS HIRING SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS TO IMAGINE FUTURE THREATS-THE RED TEAM.

POSSIBLE CLONE OR ROBOT

DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

REVELATION 13:13-15
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

REVELATION 14:9-11
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

I WAS JUST LOOKING AT THE HITS ON MY SITE LATELY. TODAY AUG 6,19-3AM-WHEN EVERY MINUTE IT SEEMS FRANCES BOT IS ALWAYS ON MY SITE. I THEN PUT IT TOGETHER. FRANCE IS ALL OVER MY SITE BECAUSE OF MY CONSPIRACY THEORY ABOUT HUMAN TWINS BEING CLONED AS SCHOOL SHOOTERS. THEN I DECIDED TO LOOK UP ON THE INTERNET OF AI AND CLONING HUMANS FOR WAR PURPOSES BY FRANCE. I THEN FIND OUT FRANCE HIRES PEOPLE TO PREDICT WHAT AI AND STUFF WILL BE USED IN FUTURE WARS. SO NOW IT MADE SENSE TO ME. SOMEHOW FRANCE GOT A HOLD OF MY FAKE CONSPIRACY THEORY OF CLONED TWIN KILLERS. AND THIS IS THE INFO I FOUND IN A QUICK HOUR SEARCH. I JUST PUT THAT ON MY SITE THIS AFTER NOON TO. AUG 5,19
AUG 6,19. I WONDER HOW LONG FRANCE HAS BEEN SPYING ON MY SITE AND ME NON-STOP. WITH 278,173 HITS ON MY SITE COMING FROM FRANCE. AND THE IP ADDRESS OF THE PLACE IN FRANCE THATS WATCHING ME EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY IS IN THE LA SEINE RIVER IN FRANCE. THEY MUST HAVE AN RIVER BUNKER WERE THEY SPY ON PEOPLE. AND ALL THE HITS ARE COMING FROM THE SAME IP ADDRESS. SO THE CANADIAN LIBERAL SEWER RAT GOVERNMENT MUSTBE  USING FRANCE TO WATCH ME 24 HOURS A DAY. THEY MUST HAVE ME ON A TERRORIST WATCH LIST. I HEARD CANADA CAN NOT SPY ON OTHER CANADIANS. BUT THREW A DIFFERENT ALLY COUNTRY. SUCH AS FRACE. FRANCE SPYS ON ME 24 HOURS A DAY. AND THE SPOOKS KEEP THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT INFORMED OF EVERY THING I DO 24 HOURS A DAY. THIS IS THE SO CALLED LEGAL WAY YOUR OWN COUNTRY CAN SPY ON YOU 24  HOURS A DAY. 

HERES THE IP THATS SPYING ON ME FROM THE LA SEINE RIVER IN FRANCE 24 HOURS A DAY IP:195.154.122.252 -France -  Aug 6, 2019 12:09:36 PM- France-Location:-Browser:-AhrefsBot-Operating System:-Other
Screen Resolution:800x600 - THIS SPY STUFF IS INTERESTING. SPYING ON A PERSON FROM A BUNKER IN THE LA SEINE RIVER IN FRANCE. WELL THE BIBLE SAYS THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL BE THE WORLD DICTATOR CONTROL FREAKS. UNDER A SINGLE LEADER THAT WILL CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH AND COME AFTER CHRISTIANS AND OVERCOME THEM. SO THIS SHOULD NOT SURPRISE ME OR ANY CHRISTIANS. WE ALL WILL BE TARGETS OF THE CONTROL FREAK WORLD GOVERNMENT LIBERAL-SOCIALIS-COMMUNISTS. IN THE EUROPEAN UNION.

Canada Spies on Its Own Citizens-By Asad Ismi-Global Research, November 24, 2013

Canadian government spies on Brazil — and its own citizens,  Our spies work closely with U.S. National Security Agency, Canada’s spy agency espionage arm of Canadian corporations-In the September issue of the CCPA Monitor, I reported on the U.S. National Security Agency’s (NSA) spying on hundreds of millions of its citizens, as revealed by whistle-blower and former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. Now it appears that the Canadian government, too, is engaged in surreptitiously spying on its citizens, in collaboration with the NSA. Canada has also been caught spying on Brazil. The United States and Canada are clearly close partners in the creation of an insidious global surveillance system that blatantly violates domestic and international human rights with impunity.In October, Snowden exposed the extent of the Canadian government’s spying activities. The Canadian counterpart to the NSA is the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC).  The two agencies have had close relations for more than six decades and share intelligence on each other’s citizens. Both spy on their own citizens as well as on each others’ nationals, and pass this information on to each other, thereby circumventing any legal restrictions on domestic surveillance. Such close co-operation is part of the “Five Eyes” program of the U.S., Canada, Australia, Britain and New Zealand, which have shared responsibilities for a massive global surveillance system that includes commercial espionage.CSEC has a staff of more than 2,000, with another 1,000 military personnel assisting it, a yearly budget worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and a new headquarters that cost $1 billion to build. As one observer put it, “CSEC operations are shrouded in almost total secrecy, authorized under ministerial directives that are themselves so secret that their subject matter, let alone their contents, is secret.”


France joins Canada and other nations in intelligence sharing group-David Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen-Updated: February 5, 2018
It’s often referred to as the “Five Eyes.” That group involves the long-time traditional allies – the U.S., Canada, Britain, Australia and New Zealand – who share intelligence information.Now, it is being dubbed as the “Five Eyes plus France.”French defence journalists were told Monday that France has now been brought in to the fold, attending meetings in Washington to share information with the Five Eyes intelligence agencies.“There was a realization that we have intelligence which counts,” French Air Force Col. Cyril told the journalists. His full name was not provided as he is with the French DRM military intelligence agency.DRM – the Directorate of Military Intelligence – has about 2,500 staff.France joined the Five Eyes group about a year ago but the French are just now talking about that development.Pierre Tran, my colleague from Defense News, reports that France has contributed important information that has allowed the U.S., in particular, to gain a better understanding of the situation in Iraq, Iran and Syria. Tran reported that Cyril gave the example of a valley near the Iraq-Syria border where there were elements from Iran, Russia, Syria, Iraq and Arab nations, each with its own agenda. French agents have been able to track and determine which groups are aligned with various organizations.

phys.org-October 8, 2018-Could villains clone themselves to take over the world?-by Hua Lu And Jessica Allison, The Conversation

If asked about clones, most people think of evil sci-fi characters. However, in real life, the word "clone" often has broader, far more positive applications. Just as office workers replicate documents by using copy machines, scientists like us who study plant disease use the biological equivalent of a copier to clone genes, cells, and tissues, as well as entire organisms.DNA cloning-The most common type of cloning done in the lab is gene replication. Each gene is a segment of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acids) that is made up of pairs of chemicals called bases. These base pairs form DNA's iconic double helix. Depending on the species, the whole genome could have anywhere from few thousands to billions of base pairs that make up just a few to tens of thousands of genes. The human genome alone has 3 billion base pairs that make up about 30,000 genes.Genes code for traits such as eye color and height, as well as crucial features like the development of the heart and the five senses. Some genes can even predispose people toward certain diseases or personalities.In order to unlock the secrets of life hidden in DNA, scientists are examining how individual genes function. To do so, they first copy a section of DNA that contains the gene of interest. Copying, or cloning, is often done via a biochemical reaction called polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, that mimics natural DNA replication. Once copied, the gene of interest can also be inserted to a plasmid (a ring of DNA) which is taken up by the simple bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli).When the E. coli replicates, the plasmids are also replicated, generating exponential copies of the gene. Gene cloning helps scientists reveal the sequence of DNA in a gene that encodes a trait. This ultimately enables them to manipulate the trait in an organism by modifying the gene – for example, changing its expression level and/or changing its sequence. Through these manipulations, scientists can figure out what the gene does and how it works. In some cases, such information can lead to earlier detection and better treatments of debilitating medical conditions and diseases.Cloning cells, tissues and organisms-Similarly, scientists can clone whole cells and tissues by providing the right nutrients and environment. Done carefully, cell cloning is used to replace dead cells in hospital patients. For replacement of larger body regions, tissue cloning is vital.Some organisms can even regrow whole parts of their bodies in response to organ loss; for example, lizards can regrow their tails and planarians (a type of flatworm) can replace their own heads. For some plants, in vitro culture has been routinely used to generate many copies of certain organs: for example, hairy roots or multiple shoots, without the presence of the whole plant body.However, the cloning of animal organs is not so easy for human researchers to accomplish. Organ cloning is not just simply putting the correct types of cells together to make tissues and then the tissues together to make an organ. To make a functional organ, such as a heart that can beat, one needs to go back to the beginning of heart development and find a heart progenitor cell. Then this cell is somehow to be tricked to go through the steps for heart development in the absence of the context of the whole body and eventually grow to be the heart. How we can achieve this is still a mystery. Scientists are working hard, but only the future will tell if we can accomplish human organ cloning at a level that would revolutionize successful organ transplants and replacements.All of this, however, pales in comparison to the cloning of a whole multicellular organism. Cloning an organism produces an exact genetic replica without requiring sexual reproduction. Plants are undoubtedly the champions in this respect; some plants can simply regrow from cuttings or grow a clone from parts of their bodies.But animal cloning has encountered several obstacles. This process currently involves transferring a nucleus (DNA) from a donor adult cell to an egg cell that has had its nucleus (DNA) removed. This chimeric cell is then stimulated to become embryonic or pluripotent, meaning it can divide and differentiate into other types of cells and eventually form an embryo. Although this might appear simple, this is the most challenging step of cloning an organism.Cloning comes in many forms. A. DNA cloning via PCR and a plasmid. B. Plant cloning. A spider plant continuously reproduces asexually, making clones of itself that hang from it searching for soil to root in. C. Animal cloning. The stages depict the introduction of diploid nucleus from a mature cell into an enucleated egg cell.Once the embryo is obtained, the next step is quite straightforward; the embryo is implanted into a female's womb and the clone will continue to develop. This implantation step is commonly done in humans as part of the process of in vitro fertilization. Babies produced through in vitro fertilization carry one set of DNA from the father (sperm donor) and another set from the mother (egg donor). However, clones will have the same chromosomal DNA as the initial adult cell that donates its nucleus (DNA). Because of the difficulties associated with the cloning process, few experts in the world have successfully cloned animals. Additionally, some of the cloned animals exhibit health problems or reduced lifespans. Despite this, the list of cloned animals continues to grow, including sheep, cows, oxen, cats, dogs, deer, horses, mules, rabbits and rats.Supervillain clones-With cloning of whole organisms a reality (though currently not feasible for widespread use), you may wonder if one day, an evil villain would be able to make thousands of copies of him or herself. Would that evil villain then take over the world? The answer to this question has many layers.Let's consider the individual clones. Since they are humans, the clones will not simply respond to commands like robots or be puppet-like extensions of the original villain. As with identical twins, the clones may share predispositions, but their personalities will not be the same. Since so much of personality and behavior is influenced by the environment, the clones may even grow to oppose the villain! And, while the villain may not care, there are ethical issues involved with human cloning. Would society accept the act of cloning? Would clones be given the full rights of natural-born humans? How would it affect families if they decided to clone deceased loved ones? Even amid these questions, organismal cloning has tremendous applications for society. It helps us to save species around the world from endangerment and extinction, although it doesn't generate the genetic diversity required to maintain a healthy population. It is also an important tool to study diseases and to replicate individual organisms with important or rare characteristics that could be lost through breeding, such as cows with high milk production or animals that can make valuable medicinal compounds.Although both promising and exciting, the road of cloning entire organisms is filled with ethical pitfalls and scientific conundrums; perhaps as a society, we are not ready to deal with the evil villains and their clones just yet.

The French Army is hiring science fiction writers to imagine future threats-The ‘Red Team’ will come up with ideas that military planners might not imagine-By Andrew Liptak@AndrewLiptak Jul 24, 2019, 11:17am EDT

The French military wants to figure out what its armed forces might face in the future. To help, it’s bringing on a group of people who are well-versed in imagining the future: science fiction writers. The UK’s Telegraph reports that France’s Defence Innovation Agency is hiring between four and five writers to form a “Red Team” that will come up with “scenarios of disruption,” which is military-speak for out-of-the-box thinking.France set up the Defence Innovation Agency in September 2018 as a sort of incubation hub to find existing technologies and equipment that the military might be able to use. The idea is that the military might be able to find and adopt technologies faster than the typical acquisition channels, which is a process that can take years."Futuristic technology is only useful if you have an idea of how it might be used"But knowing what technologies or gadgets to use is only useful if you have an idea of what problems you might face on the battlefield. That’s apparently where the science fiction writers come in. But they won’t be coming up with stories about how we might fight off alien civilizations from other planets. The Telegraph says that they will “try and anticipate how terrorist groups or hostile states might use advanced technology against France.”The idea here isn’t that the group of authors will somehow predict the future. Rather, by using science fiction as a tool, they’ll come up with ideas that regular military strategists might not otherwise imagine.Using science fiction and writers in this way is a practice that’s already in use in several other countries in a field called Strategic Foresight. The Canadian military hired science fiction writer Karl Schroeder to write up a short novel called Crisis in Zefra in 2005. That short book laid out a scenario that Canadian peacekeepers might face in a near-future conflict, incorporating how drones, cellphones, and internet access might play a role in an urban war zone."The US and other countries have a history of using science fiction writers "The United States has also utilized the help of science fiction writers: authors Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle established the Citizens’ Advisory Council on National Space Policy during the Reagan administration, while the Pentagon brought in a handful of science fiction writers and film directors to think up potential threats in the immediate aftermath of the September 11th attacks. More recently, authors August Cole and Peter W. Singer authored an influential book called Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War, which drew on their work in think tanks to imagine what a third world war between China, Russia, and the United States might look like.The French military has recently been working to modernize its forces. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of a new space command, while the country’s Cyber Command marched in last year’s Bastille Day celebrations. This year, Franky Zapata, the French inventor behind the Flyboard Air, flew over crowds during this year’s Bastille Day military parade carrying a gun — something that could have easily come right from the pages of a science fiction novel.

French army sets up 'red team' of sci-fi writers to imagine future threats-David Chazan, Paris-19 July 2019 • 4:21pm-the telegraph

The French army is creating a “Red Team” of science fiction writers to help military strategists anticipate future threats to national security.A report by France’s recently established Defence Innovation Agency says four or five visionaries are being hired to imagine “scenarios of disruption” that might not occur to military planners.The possible sequences of events they come up with will remain top secret as they could be crucial in the fight against “malicious elements”, the report says.Bruno Tertrais, deputy director of France’s Foundation for Strategic Research, said the role of the Red Team would be to think more creatively than the military top brass and challenge “any certainties that we may have and hypotheses about the future outside the usual bureaucratic procedures”.They will try to anticipate how terrorist groups or hostile states might use advanced technology against France. He added that a similar exercise had been conducted in the United States, where science fiction writers took part in defence brainstorming sessions after the September 11 attacks.“The [US] government considered that it had been the victim of a lack of imagination,” he said.“It is certainly not the Red Team that will decide France’s military strategy and still less its defence policy. Its role will be to help the Defence Innovation Agency think about future technologies and their impact on strategies.”Mr Tertrais said the writers would be expected to imagine more innovative scenarios than those explored in the popular Channel 4 series Black Mirror.The initiative comes as France seeks more innovative approaches to defence.During the Bastille Day military parade in Paris on July 14, Franky Zapata, an inventor, demonstrated his futuristic jet-propelled “flyboard”, soaring into the air on the hoverboard-like device above the assembled dignitaries and crowds of amazed spectators.After the demonstration, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, tweeted a video of the breathtaking stunt with the message: “Proud of our army, modern and innovative”.Mr Zapata, 45, a professional pilot, former jetskiing champion and military reservist, on Friday announced plans to cross the Channel on his flyboard, despite warnings from the authorities that the venture would be highly dangerous.It can fly for little more than 10 minutes, with a top speed of about 115 miles per hour, meaning that the 21-mile crossing would be stretching the limits of its current capabilities.On Bastille Day, France also showcased a device to combat drones, a rifle-shaped microwave jammer that blocks the pilot’s control signals, known as the Nerod F5.In another military application of advanced technology, the French army is experimenting with robots that could help its forces combat Islamist groups in Mali, west Africa.Florence Parly, the defence minister, said the Barakuda, a “mule” robot, could soon be deployed to provide logistical support and ferry supplies to soldiers on the battlefield.Other projects include “aircraft capable of interacting with drones and software capable of instantly analysing thousands of satellite images,” she said.Ms Parly added that scientists were also developing artificial intelligence systems to extend military capabilities.

 State of AI: Artificial Intelligence, the Military and Increasingly Autonomous Weapons-May 9, 2019/by Kirsten Gronlund-future of life institute

As artificial intelligence works its way into industries like healthcare and finance, governments around the world are increasingly investing in another of its applications: autonomous weapons systems. Many are already developing programs and technologies that they hope will give them an edge over their adversaries, creating mounting pressure for others to follow suite.These investments appear to mark the early stages of an AI arms race. Much like the nuclear arms race of the 20th century, this type of military escalation poses a threat to all humanity and is ultimately unwinnable. It incentivizes speed over safety and ethics in the development of new technologies, and as these technologies proliferate it offers no long-term advantage to any one player.Nevertheless, the development of military AI is accelerating. Below are the current AI arms programs, policies, and positions of seven key players: the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, and South Korea. All information is from State of AI: Artificial intelligence, the military, and increasingly autonomous weapons, a report by Pax.“PAX calls on states to develop a legally binding instrument that ensures meaningful human control over weapons systems, as soon as possible,” says Daan Kayser, the report’s lead author. “Scientists and tech companies also have a responsibility to prevent these weapons from becoming reality. We all have a role to play in stopping the development of Killer Robots.”The United States-UN Position-In April 2018, the US underlined the need to develop “a shared understanding of the risk and benefits of this technology before deciding on a specific policy response. We remain convinced that it is premature to embark on negotiating any particular legal or political instrument in 2019.”-AI in the Military-In 2014, the Department of Defense released its ‘Third Offset Strategy,’ the aim of which, as described in 2016 by then-Deputy Secretary of Defense “is to exploit all advances in artificial intelligence and autonomy and insert them into DoD’s battle networks (…).”The 2016 report ‘Preparing for the Future of AI’ also refers to the weaponization of AI and notably states: “Given advances in military technology and AI more broadly, scientists, strategists, and military experts all agree that the future of LAWS is difficult to predict and the pace of change is rapid.”In September 2018, the Pentagon committed to spend USD 2 billion over the next five years through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to “develop [the] next wave of AI technologies.”The Advanced Targeting and Lethality Automated System (ATLAS) program, a branch of DARPA, “will use artificial intelligence and machine learning to give ground-combat vehicles autonomous target capabilities.”Cooperation with the Private Sector-Establishing collaboration with private companies can be challenging, as the widely publicized case of Google and Project Maven has shown: Following protests from Google employees, Google stated that it would not renew its contract. Nevertheless, other tech companies such as Clarifai, Amazon and Microsoft still collaborate with the Pentagon on this project.The Project Maven controversy deepened the gap between the AI community and the Pentagon. The government has developed two new initiatives to help bridge this gap.DARPA’s OFFSET program, which has the aim of “using swarms comprising upwards of 250 unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and/or unmanned ground systems (UGSs) to accomplish diverse missions in complex urban environments,” is being developed in collaboration with a number of universities and start-ups.DARPA’s Squad X Experimentation Program, which aims for human fighters to “have a greater sense of confidence in their autonomous partners, as well as a better understanding of how the autonomous systems would likely act on the battlefield,” is being developed in collaboration with Lockheed Martin Missiles.China-UN Position-China demonstrated the “desire to negotiate and conclude” a new protocol “to ban the use of fully autonomous lethal weapons systems.” However, China does not want to ban the development of these weapons, which has raised questions about its exact position.-AI in the Military-There have been calls from within the Chinese government to avoid an AI arms race. The sentiment is echoed in the private sector, where the chairman of Alibaba has said that new technology, including machine learning and artificial intelligence, could lead to a World War III.Despite these concerns, China’s leadership is continuing to pursue the use of AI for military purposes.Cooperation with the Private Sector-To advance military innovation, President Xi Jinping has called for China to follow “the road of military-civil fusion-style innovation,” such that military innovation is integrated into China’s national innovation system. This fusion has been elevated to the level of a national strategy.The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) relies heavily on tech firms and innovative start-ups. The larger AI research organizations in China can be found within the private sector.There are a growing number of collaborations between defense and academic institutions in China. For instance, Tsinghua University launched the Military-Civil Fusion National Defense Peak Technologies Laboratory to create “a platform for the pursuit of dual-use applications of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence.”Regarding the application of artificial intelligence to weapons, China is currently developing “next generation stealth drones,” including, for instance, Ziyan’s Blowfish A2 model. According to the company, this model “autonomously performs more complex combat missions, including fixed-point timing detection, fixed-range reconnaissance, and targeted precision strikes.”Russia-UN Position-Russia has stated that the debate around lethal autonomous weapons should not ignore their potential benefits, adding that “the concerns regarding LAWS can be addressed through faithful implementation of the existing international legal norms.” Russia has actively tried to limit the number of days allotted for such discussions at the UN.-AI in the Military-While Russia does not have a military-only AI strategy yet, it is clearly working towards integrating AI more comprehensively.The Foundation for Advanced Research Projects (the Foundation), which can be seen as the Russian equivalent of DARPA, opened the National Center for the Development of Technology and Basic Elements of Robotics in 2015.At a conference on AI in March 2018, Defense Minister Shoigu pushed for increasing cooperation between military and civilian scientists in developing AI technology, which he stated was crucial for countering “possible threats to the technological and economic security of Russia.”In January 2019, reports emerged that Russia was developing an autonomous drone, which “will be able to take off, accomplish its mission, and land without human interference,” though “weapons use will require human approval.”Cooperation with the Private Sector-A new city named Era, devoted entirely to military innovation, is currently under construction. According to the Kremlin, the “main goal of the research and development planned for the technopolis is the creation of military artificial intelligence systems and supporting technologies.”In 2017, Kalashnikov — Russia’s largest gun manufacturer — announced that it had developed a fully automated combat module based on neural-network technologies that enable it to identify targets and make decisions.The United Kingdom-UN Position-The UK believes that an “autonomous system is capable of understanding higher level intent and direction.” It suggested that autonomy “confers significant advantages and has existed in weapons systems for decades” and that “evolving human/machine interfaces will allow us to carry out military functions with greater precision and efficiency,” though it added that “the application of lethal force must be directed by a human, and that a human will always be accountable for the decision.” The UK stated that “the current lack of consensus on key themes counts against any legal prohibition,” and that it “would not have any practical effect.”-AI in the Military-A 2018 Ministry of Defense report underlines that the MoD is pursuing modernization “in areas like artificial intelligence, machine-learning, man-machine teaming, and automation to deliver the disruptive effects we need in this regard.”The MoD has various programs related to AI and autonomy, including the Autonomy program. Activities in this program include algorithm development, artificial intelligence, machine learning, “developing underpinning technologies to enable next generation autonomous military-systems,” and optimization of human autonomy teaming.The Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the MoD’s research arm, launched the AI Lab in 2018.In terms of weaponry, the best-known example of autonomous technology currently under development is the top-secret Taranis armed drone, the “most technically advanced demonstration aircraft ever built in the UK,” according to the MoD.Cooperation with the Private Sector-The MoD has a cross-government organization called the Defense and Security Accelerator (DASA), launched in December 2016. DASA “finds and funds exploitable innovation to support UK defense and security quickly and effectively, and support UK property.”In March 2019, DASA awarded a GBP 2.5 million contract to Blue Bear Systems, as part of the Many Drones Make Light Work project. On this, the director of Blue Bear Systems said, “The ability to deploy a swarm of low cost autonomous systems delivers a new paradigm for battlefield operations.”France-UN Position-France understands the autonomy of LAWS as total, with no form of human supervision from the moment of activation and no subordination to a chain of command. France stated that a legally binding instrument on the issue would not be appropriate, describing it as neither realistic nor desirable. France did propose a political declaration that would reaffirm fundamental principles and “would underline the need to maintain human control over the ultimate decision of the use of lethal force.”-AI in the Military-France’s national AI strategy is detailed in the 2018 Villani Report, which states that “the increasing use of AI in some sensitive areas such as […] in Defense (with the question of autonomous weapons) raises a real society-wide debate and implies an analysis of the issue of human responsibility.”This has been echoed by French Minister for the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, who said that “giving a machine the choice to fire or the decision over life and death is out of the question.”On defense and security, the Villani Report states that the use of AI will be a necessity in the future to ensure security missions, to maintain power over potential opponents, and to maintain France’s position relative to its allies.The Villani Report refers to DARPA as a model, though not with the aim of replicating it. However, the report states that some of DARPA’s methods “should inspire us nonetheless. In particular as regards the President’s wish to set up a European Agency for Disruptive Innovation, enabling funding of emerging technologies and sciences, including AI.”The Villani Report emphasizes the creation of a “civil-military complex of technological innovation, focused on digital technology and more specifically on artificial intelligence.”Cooperation with the Private Sector-In September 2018, the Defense Innovation Agency (DIA) was created as part of the Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA), France’s arms procurement and technology agency. According to Parly, the new agency “will bring together all the actors of the ministry and all the programs that contribute to defense innovation.”One of the most advanced projects currently underway is the nEUROn unmanned combat air system, developed by French arms producers Dassault on behalf of the DGA, which can fly autonomously for over three hours.Patrice Caine, CEO of Thales, one of France’s largest arms producers, stated in January 2019 that Thales will never pursue “autonomous killing machines,” and is working on a charter of ethics related to AI.Israel-UN Position-In 2018, Israel stated that the “development of rigid standards or imposing prohibitions to something that is so speculative at this early stage, would be imprudent and may yield an uninformed, misguided result.” Israel underlined that “[w]e should also be aware of the military and humanitarian advantages.”-AI in the Military-It is expected that Israeli use of AI tools in the military will increase rapidly in the near future.The main technical unit of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the engine behind most of its AI developments is called C4i. Within C4i, there is the the Sigma branch, whose “purpose is to develop, research, and implement the latest in artificial intelligence and advanced software research in order to keep the IDF up to date.”The Israeli military deploys weapons with a considerable degree of autonomy. One of the most relevant examples is the Harpy loitering munition, also known as a kamikaze drone: an unmanned aerial vehicle that can fly around for a significant length of time to engage ground targets with an explosive warhead.Israel was one of the first countries to “reveal that it has deployed fully automated robots: self-driving military vehicles to patrol the border with the Palestinian-governed Gaza Strip.”Cooperation with the Private Sector-Public-private partnerships are common in the development of Israel’s military technology. There is a “close connection between the Israeli military and the digital sector,” which is said to be one of the reasons for the country’s AI leadership.Israel Aerospace Industries, one of Israel’s largest arms companies, has long been been developing increasingly autonomous weapons, including the above mentioned Harpy.South Korea-UN Position-In 2015, South Korea stated that “the discussions on LAWS should not be carried out in a way that can hamper research and development of robotic technology for civilian use,” but that it is “wary of fully autonomous weapons systems that remove meaningful human control from the operation loop, due to the risk of malfunctioning, potential accountability gap and ethical concerns.” In 2018, it raised concerns about limiting civilian applications as well as the positive defense uses of autonomous weapons.AI in the Military-In December 2018, the South Korean Army announced the launch of a research institute focusing on artificial intelligence, entitled the AI Research and Development Center. The aim is to capitalize on cutting-edge technologies for future combat operations and “turn it into the military’s next-generation combat control tower.”South Korea is developing new military units, including the Dronebot Jeontudan (“Warrior”) unit, with the aim of developing and deploying unmanned platforms that incorporate advanced autonomy and other cutting-edge capabilities.South Korea is known to have used the armed SGR-A1 sentry robot, which has operated in the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. The robot has both a supervised mode and an unsupervised mode. In the unsupervised mode “the SGR-AI identifies and tracks intruders […], eventually firing at them without any further intervention by human operators.”Cooperation with the Private Sector-Public-private cooperation is an integral part of the military strategy: the plan for the AI Research and Development Center is “to build a network of collaboration with local universities and research entities such as the KAIST [Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology] and the Agency for Defense Development.”In September 2018, South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) launched a new strategy to develop its national military-industrial base, with an emphasis on boosting ‘Industry 4.0 technologies’, such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics and robotics.To learn more about what’s happening at the UN, check out this article from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.