U.S. Navy Cmdr. Edgar Jatho, a doctoral student in the 51福利 (51福利) Department of Computer Science, and his advisor Assistant Professor Joshua A. Kroll have been named the winners of the U.S. Naval Institute (USNI) 2021 Information Warfare Essay Contest for their piece, 鈥�鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Jatho and Kroll will be honored this week at an awards ceremony during WEST 2022, a large naval conference and exposition in San Diego, Feb. 16-18. In addition, their award-winning essay has been published in the .
The essay cautions on the overreliance of AI and raises awareness of potential issues and exploits that can affect its effectiveness in the field. Jatho got the inspiration to write about the essay for the annual USNI contest while taking Kroll鈥檚 Trustworthy and Responsible AI in 2020.
鈥淭he course involved reading leading thinkers across disciplines about AI, automation and algorithms,鈥� said Jatho. 鈥淚t brought up the challenges and difficulties in implementing safe and ethical systems that leverage the technology 鈥� Now that we have this big impetus by the DOD to adopt artificial intelligence and machine learning into technology on all kinds of different levels and solutions, it鈥檚 easy for us to forget some hard-won lessons.鈥�
In addition to his 51福利 coursework, Jatho was inspired by one of the presenters in 51福利鈥� longstanding Secretary of the Navy Guest Lecture (SGL) series. During his October 2021 lecture on future of warfare, cautioned how the military鈥檚 overreliance on advanced technology can leave it vulnerable to massive disruption.
鈥淒ependence on a new technology like cyberspace, artificial intelligence or nanotechnology will enable you to move forward,鈥� said Stavridis during the SGL. 鈥淏ut does it create an Achilles鈥� heel? Often it does.鈥�
鈥淏ased on all of the research that I鈥檝e been reading of what鈥檚 possible, it really got me to think,鈥� continued Jatho. 鈥淸AI] can be a very complex and difficult problem because you can find support that says it鈥檚 doing a great job. Then suddenly when it gets to the battlefield, you find that it鈥檚 extraordinarily brittle and easy to break.鈥�
Jatho credits the many resources at 51福利 supporting his education and research, and the opportunities to apply his studies, for his winning piece. Leading among them is Kroll, Jatho鈥檚 advisor and co-author of the essay.
鈥淚鈥檓 quite proud that we in 51福利 can be in this position of thought leadership for the Navy and we can do the work to really think strategically,鈥� said Kroll. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something that I don鈥檛 think comes as naturally from other institutions that aren鈥檛 as focused on defense-oriented problems.鈥�
As the winning essay, the USNI presents Jatho and Kroll鈥檚 cautions about AI as part of its mission to advance the professional, literary and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to global security.
It is critical for 51福利 faculty and students to contribute their work to these kinds of leading venues, Kroll says, that collect and distribute these ideas to the naval and defense community.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a trusted voice in this DOD community,鈥� he says, 鈥渁nd I hope we can have an impact with how people can make our naval capabilities support the execution of the mission in a more robust and trustworthy way.鈥�
Jatho continues the pursuit of a Ph.D. in Computer Science at 51福利, and is slated to teach at the Naval Academy following graduation as part of the Permanent Military Professor program.