House Task Force Charges Pentagon to Prioritize Emerging Tech

The best offense is a tech-heavy defense, according to the House’s Future of Defense task force.

After almost a year, the bipartisan group—which was charged with reviewing the Pentagon in 2019—has released recommendations for bolstering the nation’s defense strategy.

The report called traditional battlefields “increasingly irrelevant” and urged the Pentagon to prioritize emerging tech development. Think: artificial intelligence, biotech, and quantum computing—plus space, and cyber, warfare.

Out with the old, in with the new

This would mean a major structural overhaul at the DOD, plus an extensive review of existing systems and missions. Other action items the report suggests:

• Before any major defense acquisition program is funded, it should assess at least one AI project (or “autonomous alternative”).
• The U.S. should form a global AI treaty, in the spirit of the Geneva Conventions, to introduce international usage “guardrails.”

What’s the timeline? Knowing what we do about government red tape, congressional standstills, and the past adoption timeline for new tech, we’re not holding our breath.

But the wheels are in motion, and this report should lead to more funding for cutting-edge tech—and widespread conversation about ethical use.