Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Marines fooled a DARPA robot by hiding in a cardboard box while giggling and pretending to be trees

Marines fooled a DARPA robot by hiding in a cardboard box while giggling and pretending to be trees

Former Pentagon policy analyst Paul Scharre wrote in his upcoming book that the Marines were training to defeat the AI system powering the robot.
The state-of-the-art robots used by the Pentagon had an easily manipulated weakness, according to an upcoming book by a former policy analyst: Though they're trained to identify human targets, the bots are easily fooled with the most lackluster of disguises.

In his upcoming book, "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence," former Pentagon policy analyst and Army veteran Paul Scharre writes that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) team trained its robots with a team of Marines for six days to improve its artificial intelligence systems.

Shashank Josi, defense editor at The Economist, posted several excerpts from Scharre's book on Twitter. In the passages, Scharre details how, at the end of their training course, the Marines devised a game to test the DARPA robot's intelligence.

Eight Marines placed the robot in the center of a traffic circle and found creative ways to approach it, aiming to get close enough to touch the robot without being detected.

Two of the Marines did somersaults for 300 meters. Two more hid under a cardboard box, giggling the entire time. Another took branches from a fir tree and walked along, grinning from ear to ear while pretending to be a tree, according to sources from Scharre's book.

Not one of the eight was detected.

"The AI had been trained to detect humans walking," Scharre wrote. "Not humans somersaulting, hiding in a cardboard box, or disguised as a tree. So these simple tricks, which a human would have easily seen through, were sufficient to break the algorithm."

Though it is unclear when the exercises in Scharre's book took place, or what improvements have been made to the systems since, DARPA robots' antics have long faced obstacles to their performance, including poor balance and concerns over their potential to cause accidental killings due to AI behaving in unpredictable ways.

"The particular experiment this appears to reference, part of our Squad X Core Technologies program, was an early prototype test to improve squads' situational awareness by detecting approaching people," a DARPA spokesperson said in an email to Insider. "In the next experiment, our team demonstrated a detection ability that exceeded expectations in a far more challenging environment. This is the nature of high risk and actively managed programs. We have not read the book but, in general, we are constantly testing and experimenting with new technologies."

The spokesperson added: "There is certainly still much work to be done to advance AI capabilities and we've seen tremendous promise in its national security applications."

Some of the technologies DARPA has recently backed include disease detecting sensors to be injected under the skin, a nuclear-powered rocket that could take humans to Mars, and AI-powered unmanned drone swarms.

Scharre did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. "Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence" will be released on February 28.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Japanese Customer Sways from VW to BYD after “Unbelievable” Test Drive amid Dealership Expansion
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
White House Eyes Budapest for Peace Talks
Cave Diving Beneath the Streets of Budapest
Another American Restaurant Chain Opens in Budapest
Hungarian Opposition Politician Supports Ukrainian Commander
Opposition Leader Threatens Media Outlets
American Airlines Adds New Flights to Budapest
F1 Hungarian Grand Prix Wraps Up
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
U.S. Trade Representative says Washington still negotiating trade deals after court rules tariffs illegal
Von der Leyen says Europe drawing up 'precise' plans to send troops to Ukraine
Kremlin accuses Europe of hindering Trump’s peace efforts in Ukraine
×