Tech concerns lead to resignation of top Pentagon official
Outgoing senior Pentagon official Preston Dunlap explains why he left the Pentagon over fears of U.S. losing its technological edge
A top Pentagon official is stepping down, warning Tuesday the United States is falling behind and could lose its technological edge to adversaries like China.
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Preston Dunlap, the chief architect for the Space Force, argued the military used to excel in areas like artificial intelligence on "Fox & Friends First," but the commercial sector is now surpassing the defense community. He said this is ultimately providing an opportunity to U.S. adversaries.
"These are accessible to anyone with resources and academics and capabilities, and so our adversaries or potential adversaries are able to have access to that technology, not only inside their own economies, but because of the benefit of our free and open society, which is a great thing," Dunlap told co-host Todd Piro.
"They also have access to a lot of our capabilities as well from our companies, and so what I want us to be able to do is to make sure that we don't just compete globally on that technological scale, but we can actually adapt and adopt the technologies of our own companies and commercial ecosystem, which we have the opportunity to do right here at home," he continued.
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Dunlap cited the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an example of how pertinent it is for the American military to have access to the most modern technology possible.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
"It's very easy to roll into complacency without a very clear and present concern or threat," Dunlap said.
"We certainly see that playing out in the dangers of complacency with Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, we certainly don't want to be put in any situation where our troops do not have access to the most modern capable technology, weapons systems, data or artificial intelligence to be able to ensure that we can deter conflict that, if necessary, defeat."
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