Reading Better - Farnam Street: Eric Schmidt Is Building the Perfect AI War-Fighting Machine

Reading Better - Farnam Street: Eric Schmidt Is Building the Perfect AI War-Fighting Machine

In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn’t read all the time – none, zero. One of the benefits of reading is that it allows you to master the best of what other people have already figured out. This is only true if you can remember and apply the lessons and insights from what you read. Good books finish themselves. Skim a lot of books. Read a few. Immediately re-read the best ones twice. Tailoring how you read to what you read makes more sense. Not everything needs to be read with the same intensity.

Some books only deserve a skim, while others deserve your complete attention. In the real world what matters is what you absorb. Skim broadly to find something worth reading. Then dive in slowly and deeply. Just as it’s harder to make healthy choices if your house is full of junk, it’s hard to get great insights from books that haven’t stood the test of time. We can’t tell which new books will be great and which ones won’t. So let time filter them for us. Time filters out what works from what doesn’t. And there is no need to waste time on books that don’t last. Most of what you need out of new books (skill development, recipes, programming languages) can be found online. Read old books. Read the best ones twice.

The single biggest change you can make to getting more out of the books you read is using the blank sheet method. Before you start reading a new book, take out a blank sheet of paper. Write down what you know about the book / subject you’re about to read — a mind map if you will. (note: To me, this is Obsidian.) After you finish a reading session, spend a few minutes adding to the map with a different color. Before you start your next reading session, review the page. When you’re done reading, put these ‘blank sheets’ into a binder that you periodically review. The blank sheet primes your brain for what you’re about to read and shows you what you’re learning.

Reviewing what you knew about a subject, as well as what you learned before a reading session not only improves memory and recall but helps connects ideas. Most of the early connections come from putting the authors’ raw material onto your foundation. As your cognitive fluency in a subject grows, you’ll start connecting ideas across disciplines, disagreeing with authors about specific points, and even developing your own ideas. At the end of each chapter write a few bullet points that summarize the main idea or specific points. Use your own words and not the authors. Try and connect it to something in your life — a memory or another idea. The point of both conventional notes and the blank sheet is to connect new knowledge to old knowledge and point out gaps in your understanding. Writing about what you read is a great way to see what you’ve learned. (note: True)

You can’t get where you want to go if you’re not learning all the time. One of the best ways to learn is to read. Above all else remember that just because you’ve read something doesn’t mean you’ve done the work required to have an opinion. Reading to Master  —  If you just read one book on a topic odds are you have a lot of blind spots in your knowledge.

Synoptical reading is reading a variety of books and articles on the same topic, finding and evaluating the contradictions, and forming an opinion. A startup called Istari, backed by Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google and chair of Alphabet, reckons some of that work can be done more effectively in the metaverse. Ishtari uses machine learning to virtually assemble and test war machines from computer models of individual components, such as the chassis and engines, that are usually marooned on separate digital drawing boards. The company reflects Schmidt’s unique position as a link between the tech industry and the Pentagon. Virtual replicas known as digital twins are common in manufacturing and could help the Pentagon develop hardware more quickly. (note: Digital twin)

That quest has roots in the shock Schmidt experienced in 2016 when he first glimpsed the state of Pentagon technology up close. He was still chair of Alphabet but accepted an invitation from President Obama’s defense secretary Ashton Carter to chair a new Defense Innovation Board trying to modernize the DOD. He may be uniquely well positioned to understand what the Pentagon needs to reach its technological goals and to help the agency obtain it. And while US military power has long depended on advances in technology, some fear that military AI can create new risks. “It would build a large number of inexpensive devices that were highly mobile, that were attritable, and those devices—or drones—would have sensors or weapons, and they would be networked together.”

The problem with today’s Pentagon is hardly money, talent, or determination, in Schmidt’s opinion. He describes the US military as “great human beings inside a bad system”—one that evolved to serve a previous era dominated by large, slow, expensive projects like aircraft carriers and a bureaucratic system that prevents people from moving too quickly. The Ukrainian military has managed to resist a much larger power in part by moving quickly and adapting technology from the private sector—hacking commercial drones into weapons, repurposing defunct battlefield connectivity systems, 3D printing spare parts, and developing useful new software for tasks like military payroll management in months, not years.

The Pentagon’s tech problem is most pressing, Schmidt says, when it comes to AI. “Einstein wrote a letter to Roosevelt in the 1930s saying that there is this new technology—nuclear weapons—that could change war, which it clearly did. I would argue that [AI-powered] autonomy and decentralized, distributed systems are that powerful.” With Schmidt’s help, a similar view has taken root inside the DOD over the past decade, where leaders believe AI will revolutionize military hardware, intelligence gathering, and backend software. The Defense Science Board, the agency’s top technical advisory body, concluded that AI-powered autonomy would shape the future of military competition and conflict.

The best tools that could prove critical to the military, such as algorithms capable of identifying enemy hardware or specific individuals in video, or that can learn superhuman strategies, are built at companies like Google, Amazon, and Apple or inside startups. The big challenge that the US military faces going forward is how to rapidly adapt commercial technologies for military use faster than competitors. Pentagon contracts with large tech companies, including Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft, have become more common but have sometimes been controversial.

And tech ambassadors can help the Pentagon understand how to slash bureaucracy to become a more attractive partner to startups, a crucial source of new ideas. The NSCAI’s final report, released in 2021, focuses on AI rivalry between the US and China, warning that the technology could spread authoritarian values. Schmidt’s work perhaps shows not only the value of government and private collaboration but the need for greater transparency and new accountability as that collaboration grows.

In conclusion, reading is a powerful tool for learning and gaining insights from others. By reading selectively and using techniques like the blank sheet method, we can improve memory, recall, and the ability to connect ideas. Reading a variety of books and articles on a topic helps to fill in blind spots and form a well-rounded perspective. Similarly, Eric Schmidt's work in building AI war-fighting machines highlights the importance of adapting commercial technologies for military use, while also emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability in the collaboration between government and private sectors.

Actionable advice:

1. Develop a reading strategy that includes skimming, deep reading, and re-reading the best books. Tailor your reading intensity to the material.
2. Use the blank sheet method to prime your brain for reading and improve memory and recall. Connect new knowledge to old knowledge and write about what you read to solidify your understanding.
3. Embrace the power of collaboration between government and private sectors to adapt technology for military use. Foster transparency and accountability to ensure ethical and responsible use of AI.

By incorporating these practices into our reading habits and technological advancements, we can continue to expand our knowledge and make progress in various fields.