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Scientists at ASU and the University of New South Wales received a multiyear contract from DARPA to pioneer new research in military ethics and autonomous technologies. This contract was granted through DARPA’s Autonomy Standards and Ideals with Military Operational Values program, which aims to create benchmarks to assess how well autonomous systems, including those employing artificial intelligence, can handle complex, ethically sensitive situations in military settings.

ASU will work closely with the DOD and provide reputable academic research support to the DOD Irregular Warfare Center. ASU will lead a national consortium that will help the center understand current and emerging global trends in nontraditional warfare. The goal is to create a pool of national experts to help the U.S. develop effective solutions and tactics. So far, it is the biggest DOD award managed by GSI, with an anticipated $24 million over five years.

The DARPA AI Cyber Challenge is a competition hosted at DEF CON, the world’s largest hacker convention. The contest aims to spur the development of a cybersecurity system powered by artificial intelligence, part of the U.S. government’s vital efforts to shore up national cybersecurity defense. The ASU-led Shellphish team won $2 million to continue developing their AI-based system, ARTIPHISHELL, and will demonstrate their finished system live at the finals in August.