Nicolas Chaillan, who served as the US Air Force's software chief and worked on Pentagon security, has resigned from his role in protest to the US military’s sluggish digital transformation
Nicolas Chaillan resigned because the US cybersecurity is no match for China. (Credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay)
China has overtaken the US in the artificial intelligence (AI) battle and the Asian nation is marching towards global dominance due to its technological advances, according to the Pentagon’s former software officer.
Nicolas Chaillan, who served as the US Air Force’s software chief and worked on Pentagon security, has resigned from his role in protest to the US military’s sluggish digital transformation.
In his first interview after he departed from the Pentagon, Chaillan told the Financial Times: “We have no competing fighting chance against China in 15 to 20 years. Right now, it’s already a done deal; it is already over in my opinion,” he said, adding there was “good reason to be angry”.
He further said that he resigned because the US cybersecurity is no match for China, calling it ‘kindergarten level’.
Also, Chaillan blamed the hesitancy of the tech firm Google to collaborate with the US defence department on AI, and extensive debates over AI ethics for slowing the US down.
By contrast, he said Chinese firms are obliged to work with Beijing, and were making “massive investment” into AI without regard to ethics.
Furthermore, Chaillan plans to testify before Congress in the coming weeks on the threat of China overtaking the US.
A spokesperson for the Department of the Air Force told FT that Frank Kendall, secretary of the U.S. Air Force, had discussed with Chaillan his recommendations for the department’s future software development following his resignation and thanked him for his contributions.