Web Survey

Exploring Views about the Use of Artificial Intelligence

The information you provide in this survey is covered by the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. For questions regarding your personal information, please contact the study team at (STUDY EMAIL ADDRESS).

Authorities: DoDI 5111.11

Principal Purposes: To gather information about how Americans view ethical issues involving potential uses of Artificial Intelligence by the Department of Defense.

OMB CONTROL NUMBER: 0704-XXXX

OMB EXPIRATION DATE: XX/XX/XXXX

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SECTION A. These next questions ask about hypothetical U.S. Department of Defense projects that use Artificial Intelligence (AI).

1. Please indicate how comfortable you would find it to employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) for each of the following. Assume for each of the cases that the AI works and achieves the intended goal.

	Very Comfortable	Somewhat Comfortable	Neutral	Somewhat uncomfortable	Very Uncomfortable
Using AI to identify enemy soldiers and vehicles and allowing it to fire weapons to eliminate them.					
Using AI supervised by American soldiers to make a recommendation about how to best eliminate enemy soldiers and vehicles.					
Using AI to locate terrorists operating outside the United States for the purpose of eliminating them.					
Using AI to enhance the United States’ military strength to ensure it remains in a dominant position relative to its enemies.					
Using AI to reduce civilian casualties and collateral damage to humanitarian targets such as hospitals by more precisely targeting enemy soldiers.					
Using AI to save the lives of U.S soldiers by firing on enemy soldiers before they do harm.					
Using AI to improve the ability of robots to disable enemy explosives.					
Using AI to intercept and destroy unmanned enemy weapon systems on the battlefield, such as missiles, that move too quickly for humans to intervene.					
Using AI to create unmanned medical evacuation helicopters to retrieve injured soldiers from the battlefield.					
Using AI to optimize the supply chain flow of weapons, ammunition, and spare parts to the battlefield.					
Using AI to optimize the supply chain flow of food, medical supplies, and fuel to the battlefield.					
Using AI to audit the U.S. military’s financial transactions to improve transparency and identify waste.					
Using AI to help the U.S. military assist the victims of natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes.					

* Note: the order of these questions will be randomized.

Section B. This question does not involve the U.S. military.

2. Please indicate how comfortable you would find it to employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the following scenario. Assume for this case that the AI works and achieves the intended goal.

	Very Comfortable	Somewhat Comfortable	Neutral	Somewhat uncomfortable	Very Uncomfortable
Using AI to help humanitarian non-governmental organizations such as Doctors Without Borders assist the victims of natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes. Please note: This question does not involve the U.S. military.					

Section C. This question does not involve the use of Artificial Intelligence

3. Please indicate how comfortable you would find it to assist in a project intended to achieve the following goal.

	Very Comfortable	Somewhat Comfortable	Neutral	Somewhat uncomfortable	Very Uncomfortable
Without using AI, help the U.S. military prevent the use of AI by enemy militaries.					

SECTION D. This section contains questions about your trust in various institutions in society, the government, and your own workplace.

4. How much do you trust each of the following institutions to act in a way that you agree with?

	A great deal	Quite a lot	Some	Very little	None
The U.S. Federal Government					
The U.S. Military					
U.S. Intelligence Agencies such as the CIA or NSA					
U.S. technology companies such as Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google, or Microsoft					
The U.S. medical system					
U.S. Colleges and Universities					
The media such as newspapers, TV, and radio					
Your employer or company					

* Note: the order of these questions will be randomized

5. For each of the following groups, how much do you trust them to act in a way that you agree with?

	A great deal	Quite a lot	Some	Very little	None
Political appointees leading U.S. federal agencies					
U.S. Elected officials holding a federal position (e.g., congressman)					
Uniformed military officers in the U.S. Military					
Career civil servants working at the U.S. Department of Defense					
Career civil servants working at U.S. intelligence agencies					
Career civil servants working at other non-defense U.S. government agencies					
Software engineers working at U.S. technology companies					
Corporate CEOs of U.S. technology companies					
Doctors and other medical professionals					
Professors at U.S. Universities and Colleges					
Journalists at media corporations					
Fellow employees at your company					

* Note: the order of these questions will be randomized

6. Please indicate the degree to which you agree or disagree with the following statements about your workplace.

	Strongly Agree	Agree	Neither agree nor disagree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree
People are expected to follow their own personal and moral beliefs in their work.					
It is very important to follow strictly the company’s rules and procedures.					
People protect their own interest above other considerations.					
The effect of decisions on the public is a primary concern in my company.					
People are expected to do anything to further the company’s interests.					
People are very concerned about what is generally best for the employees in the company.					
In my company, each person is expected, above all, to work efficiently.					
Decisions in my company are primarily viewed in terms of contribution to profit.					

* Note: the order of these questions will be randomized

SECTION E. The questions in this section ask about real-world events and activities that have shaped your impressions of the U.S. Defense Department. Please list any such events in the text box that follows each question.

7. Please name one or two past events or news stories that have influenced your expectations of whether the U.S. military would use Artificial Intelligence based software products in an acceptable way. Please do not include any personally identifiable information in your response.

1)

2)

7. Please name one or two past events and news stories that have influenced your expectations about what the U.S. military would use Artificial Intelligence for. Please do not include any personally identifiable information in your response.

1)

2)

SECTION F. The questions in this section involve the current state of the world and potential threats to the United States.

7. Below is a list of potential threats to the interests of the U.S. in the next 10 years. For each, please indicate if you see this as a critical threat, an important but not critical threat, a moderate threat, or not an important threat at all.

	A critical threat	An important but not critical threat	A moderate threat	Not an important threat at all	Don’t know/ prefer not to say
Nuclear weapon attacks					
International terrorist attacks					
Cyber attacks					
Armed conflicts between nations					
Armed conflicts within nations					
Global climate change					
International financial instability					
Rising military capabilities in potentially hostile foreign countries					

10. Would you say that the following represent a very serious threat to the United States, a moderately serious threat, just a slight threat, or no threat at all?

	Very serious threat to the United States	Moderately serious threat to the United States	Just a slight threat to the United States	No threat at all to the United States	Don’t know/ prefer not to say
North Korea					
Russia					
China					
Iran					

SECTION G. This section describes a variety of hypothetical world events.

11. Please indicate how justified you think the United States would be in using military force in response to each of the following events.

	Justified	Somewhat justified	Neutral	Somewhat unjustified	Unjustified
A foreign government has attacked American territory and killed American civilians.					
A U.S. Navy ship has been attacked and American sailors have been killed.					
An American adversary has invaded and seized populated territory from a neighboring nation.					
An American adversary has invaded and seized unpopulated territory, such as a small island, from a neighboring nation.					
An American adversary has invaded and forcibly changed the government of a neighboring nation.					
To protect an oppressed population from abuses committed by their government.					
To break an economic embargo an American adversary is using to coerce another nation.					
To defend a NATO ally which has requested assistance against foreign aggression.					
To defend a non-NATO ally, such as Saudi Arabia or the Philippines, which has requested assistance against foreign aggression.					
To uphold the requirements of an international treaty.					
To enforce a UN resolution					
To preempt an expected attack by an adversary on American soldiers deployed abroad					

SECTION H. The questions in this section ask about how you interact with mass media, such as news, television, radio, and websites, among other sources. Please read each question carefully and select the most appropriate response for each item.

12. In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media – such as newspapers, TV, and radio – when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately, and fairly?

 A great deal

 A fair amount

 Not very much

 None at all

13. Please indicate how often you get your news about current events, world affairs, and science and technology developments from the following sources.

	Every Day	Several times per week	Occasionally	Never
Websites of news organizations				
Podcasts				
Blogs				
Social media sites				
Print newspapers				
Television				
Radio				
Print news magazines				
Discussions with your friends and family				

13. Please indicate the two sources you rely on the most for news about current events, world affairs, and science and technology developments.

1)

2)

SECTION I. Demographic Information

13. What is your age?

____ years old

13. What is your gender?

 Male

 Female

 Prefer not to say

13. In what state or U.S. territory do you live?

___________________________________

13. What is the highest degree or level of school you have completed?

 Did not finish high school

 High school diploma or GED

 Some college or 2-year degree

 Bachelor’s degree

 Master’s degree

 Doctorate degree

13. Have you ever served in the armed forces of the United States?

 Yes, Currently on active duty

 Yes, Currently in National Guard or Reserves

 Yes, Retired

 Yes, Separated or Discharged

 Never served in the U.S. armed forces

13. Have you ever served in the armed forces of another country?

 Yes, Currently on active duty

 Yes, Currently in Reserves

 Yes, Retired

 Yes, Separated or Discharged

 Never served in the armed forces of another country

13. Which of the following people, if any, served in the military of any country? Please select all that apply.

 My father

 My mother

 My sibling

 My spouse or significant other

 Other person/people close to me

(Q23-Q27 FOR SOFTWARE ENGINEERS AND EMPLOYEES OF Defense Industrial Base corporations ONLY)

13. What is your job type or discipline?

 Software Developer

 Program Management

 Test / Quality Assurance (QA)

 Operations

 Research

 Sales

 Marketing

 Recruiting

 Legal

 Finance

 Human Resources (HR)

 Other

13. What is your management level?

 Individual Contributor (not managing the careers of other employees)

 Lead or Manager (managing a group or team of fewer than 35 people)

 Executive or Senior Leader (managing a group of 35 people or more)

13. How many years have you been employed in your current job?

________________ YEARS

13. How many years have you been employed in the technology industry?

________________ YEARS

13. Are you employed full time or part time at your current position? If you have more than one position, please think of the one where you work the most hours.

 Full time (35 or more hours per week)

 Part time (fewer than 35 hours per week)

13. If you have other comments or opinions about this topic, please share them here (do not include personally identifiable information.)

END. Thank you for participating.

Draft Docket ID DoD-2020-OS-0008