The Summer of (Global) AI Advancement

Welcome to the inaugural issue of The Department of Design. Thank you for being part of this journey. Let’s get into it.

Now-Redacted Interview with Eric Schmidt

Less than 24 hours after being posted online, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s spicy session at Stanford was pulled. You can find a bootleg version here (for now). We found these comments on an AI future especially interesting:

[The United States] is ahead, we need to stay ahead, and we need lots of money to do so… In your lifetimes, the battle between the US and China for knowledge supremacy is going to be the big fight.

Eric Schmidt, in an interview at Stanford released 08/14/24

Summer of Model Advancement

This summer saw the launch of Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Google’s Gemini 1.5. While OpenAI hasn’t yet launched the much anticipated real-time multimodal model, it’s clear this is the summer of advancement.

Anthropic furthers the development of new user experience design patterns for AI with their release of the Claude 3.5 Sonnet model. The model’s multimodality is impressive, leading the industry in multiple visual diagnostic metrics, but perhaps more impressive is their experimentation with outputs. Their new tool, Artifacts, revolutionizes the standard chatbox user interface with a complementary visual output.?

In their latest demo, the Artifacts tool outputs 8-bit sprites across a beach theme and then embeds those sprites into a game directly on the user's screen while storing the complimentary code. The user can then share their “Artifact” with a link provided by the tool.?

While we’re in the early stages of exploring tools that properly leverage artificial intelligence's full capabilities, Anthropic’s development showcases the value of moving from the traditional chat and text-based interface into a more interactive tool. These new UI patterns have the opportunity to revolutionize technology across the Defense and National Security technology spaces with use cases like scenario simulations, report creation, and software development.?

For further reading, view Anthropic's release notes.

Top US Development

Brief: The Silicon Valley Defense Group has released the 2024 natsec100. The list identifies the top 100 venture-funded startups focused on improving emerging technologies for the Defense Industrial Base and National Security Industrial Base.?

Insights: This year 44 new companies have made the list, replacing nearly half of the 2023 natsec100. Cesium Astro was the most improved company this year, going from 97 in 2023 to 34 in 2024. The natsec100 altogether received over $500 million in SBIR funding this year. Here are the top five companies in the 2024 natsec100:

1. SpaceX
2. Anduril
3. ShieldAI
4. Lamda
5. Scale

Top Global Intel

Brief: Georgetown’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) shared a new issue brief titled China’s Military AI Roadblocks, detailing the challenges faced by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in advancing military AI and related technologies.

Insights: While China views AI as a pivotal opportunity to surpass U.S. military capabilities, significant barriers remain. Key challenges in the report include:

1. Cybersecurity: China's military struggles to protect its AI systems from cyberattacks, which could compromise sensitive data and control systems.
2. Communications: Outdated and unreliable networks hinder communication during high-intensity conflicts.
3. Reliable AI Systems: The PLA faces challenges in developing AI systems that can consistently perform under diverse and unpredictable conditions.

Tip Sheets

1. Read about the Pentagon’s plans to continue the “widely successful” AI and Data Acceleration initiative through 2029.
2. Watch the Chief Digital and AI Officer on AI transformation at the DoD.
3. Hear from the Head of the Defense Innovation Unit and a16z on the future of Defense Innovation.
4. Read about how six of the DOD’s business IT programs did not have approved cyber strategies in place.
5. Read about the growth in drone approvals by the Defense Innovation Unit.

Featured Career Opportunity

Palantir: Product Marketing Strategist

Featured Event

Air, Space, and Cyberspace Conference?

The newsletter is curated and written by Mike Aleo and William Hardee .

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