Dr. Michael Horowitz
Director, Emerging Capabilities Policy Office
Michael C. Horowitz earned an undergraduate degree from Emory University and received a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University.
He served in the Pentagon in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
He has over 20 years of experience in leadership, research, and academic roles focused on international security matters. He is the Richard Perry Professor and Director of the Perry World House at the University of Pennsylvania.
He is published in a wide variety of peer-reviewed journals and popular outlets. He is considered an expert in defense innovation and the intersection of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics with global politics.
Horowitz presently serves in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense Policy as the Director of the Emerging Capabilities Policy Office.
In the News…
The Pentagon has released a new directive on the development of new weapons systems laying the framework for the use of artificial intelligence and autonomy in weapons. According to Dr. Michael Horowitz, the Director of Emerging Capabilities Policy at the Pentagon, the framework, effective as of January 25, outlines “the dramatic, expanded vision for the role of artificial intelligence in the future of the American military.”
It is the first time in more than a decade that such guidance on weapons development has been given, a move Dr. Horowitz referred to as “significant.” He said the new version has only “relatively minor clarifications and refinements,” including oversight and advisory bodies, but the directive was necessary to include autonomous weapons systems.
Presently, the military is still developing ways to integrate the evolving artificial intelligence science into its units. Ranging from tests to create robotic wingmen for Air Force Pilots to testing how troops can evade detection from computers, the Pentagon has expressed anticipation regarding the new systems. Director. Horowitz said, with artificial intelligence, many systems will require only minimal human oversight or engagement.
