DARPA's ASIMOV seeks to develop Ethical Standards for Autonomous Systems

DARPA's ASIMOV seeks to develop Ethical Standards for Autonomous Systems
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jan 01, 2025

CoVar, a prominent developer of AI and machine learning solutions for the Department of Defense, has secured a multi-year contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to contribute to the Autonomy Standards and Ideals with Military Operational Values (ASIMOV) program. This initiative aims to establish a quantifiable framework for assessing the ethical readiness of autonomous systems, a critical aspect of their increasing integration into military and civilian operations.

The ASIMOV program recognizes the necessity of evaluating the ethical dimensions of autonomy and AI as these technologies take on more complex decision-making roles. Beyond technical performance, the initiative will focus on creating a shared framework for ethical autonomy. This will enable the Developmental Testing/Operational Testing community to measure and validate how autonomous systems navigate the ethical complexities of specific military scenarios. An embedded Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications (ELSI) advisory group will provide ongoing guidance throughout the program.

As part of its responsibilities, CoVar will design and implement an ethical testing infrastructure for autonomous systems named GEARS (Gauging Ethical Autonomous Reliable Systems). This system will introduce a novel "mathematics of ethics," using knowledge graphs to represent ethical scenarios and commander intent in a way that both humans and machines can understand. These graphs will facilitate the derivation of quantifiable ethical challenge ratings for various scenarios.

To tackle the complexities of the ASIMOV program, CoVar has assembled a diverse team that includes experts in ethics, AI/ML trust, combatant command operations, and advanced engineering. The collaboration also involves Duality AI, whose Falcon digital twin platform supports simulation and comprehensive data extraction for autonomous systems.

Dr. Pete Torrione, Chief Technology Officer of CoVar, highlighted the potential impact of this work: "If this work is successful, it will represent the first quantitative ELSI-based evaluation framework suitable for testing ethics of autonomous systems. This will empower the US Department of Defense to deploy AI/ML capable autonomous systems with a clear understanding of not only the technical capabilities of the systems, but also the ethics of their behaviors."

Through its role in ASIMOV, CoVar aims to reinforce its position as a leader in responsible AI/ML development for the Department of Defense while shaping the future of ethical testing and evaluation for autonomous technologies.