“The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, in its final report to Congress and the Biden administration last year, warned artificial intelligence will soon become ‘weapons of first resort in future conflicts.’...” “The commission disbanded in October 2021, but many of its leading experts have shifted to a private-sector entity, the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP)...” “[SCSP chief executive officer Ylli Bajraktari, NSCAI’s former executive director] said the private sector’s R&D spending has obvious impacts on society and the public, but also holds major implications for national security. ‘That’s why this is such a critical time, because of the diffusion of power, the diffusion of technologies and accessibility. Not just the United States government has access to these technologies. Anybody can purchase these kinds of capabilities off the shelf or online. This is a new momentum in how conflicts are waged, how geopolitics will be formed,’ Bajraktari said...” “To prepare for the next era of great power competition, Bajraktari said the federal government will need to increase its level of spending on basic R&D. NSCAI in its final report urged Congress to double federal R&D spending for AI each year, until it reached $32 billion in fiscal 2026...” Read the full article here. Source: Federal R&D investments serve as foundation for US becoming AI-ready – By Jory Heckman, April 12, 2022. Federal News Network.