The technological and innovation landscape of the digital era remains shaped by artificial intelligence, and a growing issue has emerged, requiring urgent attention and vigilance on the part of both governments: the delicate balance between progress and security that must be maintained. 

Members of the Space Force have been informed that they are not permitted to use the generative AI tools available on the internet — that allows them to create text, images or multimedia content — unless specifically authorized by their supervisors. 

According to a memo issued by Space Force on September 29 addressing Guardians, the name given to its employees by the force, employees are not allowed to use such AI tools on government computers, including large-language models, until the Chief Technology and Innovation Office permits them to do so. 

It has been reported by Reuters that the US Space Force has halted the use of chatbots like the ChatGPT, which are web-based artificial intelligence tools that generate conversational dialogues, due to data security concerns. It has become increasingly common to employ generative AI in recent years, which utilizes large language models that use huge amounts of past data to learn. This has steadily expanded in recent years, resulting in product developments like OpenAI's ChatGPT that can quickly create content such as text, images or videos by simply asking a few simple questions. 

During the meeting, Lisa Costa, Space Force's chief technology and innovation officer, stated that the technology would revolutionize the workforce and greatly improve Guardian's ability to operate quickly. 

The Air Force confirmed the temporary ban, which was first reported by Bloomberg, saying that the technology would revolutionize the workforce and improve Guardian's efficiency. Although Costa emphasized the concerns over current cybersecurity and data handling standards, he also stressed that the United States Space Force, a branch of the United States Department of Defense, needs to adopt AI and large language models (LLM) responsibly. 

Among the U.S. militaries tasked with protecting the U.S. government's and its allies' space interests are the U.S. Marines. In addition to the Space Force's decision, Bloomberg, citing a statement made by former chief software officer Nick Chaillan, issued by the USAF and Space Force, says at least 500 people with the use of Ask Sage, a generative AI platform, have already been affected. 

In an interview with Bloomberg, Challain explained to the publication that the Guardians' decision is short-sighted, because his bot fulfills all of the Space Force's security requirements, stating that he alone has more than 10,000 customers within the Defense Department alone. 

The problem with not using Challain's tech, according to Bloomberg, is that it would "put us years behind China," although it is unclear how depriving the Pentagon of its use of a chatbot created by one dude would affect a nation that relies heavily on them. 

There have been concerns raised by some governments in recent months that Long-term Learning Modules could be used to leak private information to the public. There has been a temporary ban on the AI chatbot ChatGPT by the government of Italy since March based on suspected data privacy violations, which was reversed about a month later. 

It should also be noted that tech giants including Apple, Amazon, and Samsung in addition to blocking or restricting their employees from using ChatGPT-like AI tools at work are also among the firms that enforce these policies. 

While the US Space Force grapples with how AI is intertwined with national security and how this will impact the nation's interests, this pause serves as a stark reminder of the delicate balance that needs to be struck between advancing technology and securing the national interest. The result of their discussion will undoubtedly have a significant impact on how artificial intelligence is deployed within the realms of defence and space exploration in the future.