Brandon Tseng wondered why his Navy SEAL team didn’t have a way to see inside buildings they were about to raid. He consulted his brother Ryan, a tech whiz, and together they found a way to apply AI technology to drones for military use. The company they created, Shield AI, is valued at $2.7 billion and is providing real-world results. However, they face challenges securing funding from the Pentagon. Shield AI’s drones use AI programs that allow them to make decisions based on their observations without continuous human direction. Their efforts are part of a new wave of military contractors aiming to revolutionize war-fighting tools and maintain the US military’s edge over China. Their work is also raising concerns over the responsibility of granting life-or-death decisions to software programs.
