As artificial intelligence increases in popularity, many countries have expressed security concerns regarding the technology. The use of nuclear weapons falls into this category.
Officials from the United States have called on other nuclear powers to commit to an understanding that AI would never be authorized to approve the use of nuclear weapons in conflicts. Given the dangerous consequences of such a choice, this decision should be reserved only for humans.
France, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. are among the countries that have already stated their intentions to comply with such an agreement. Last week, officials from the U.S. encouraged Russia and China to make similar commitments regarding the use of their nuclear arsenals.
During a recent online briefing, Paul Dean, principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability at the State Department, reinforced a “clear and strong commitment” that only humans would have the final say and total control over deploying nuclear weapons, Reuters reported. He encouraged Russia and China to follow suit.
“We would welcome a similar statement by China and the Russian Federation,” Dean said. “We think it is an extremely important norm of responsible behavior, and we think it would be very welcome in a P5 context.”
P5 refers to the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, and China.
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Dean’s comments come after a diplomatic discussion in Beijing on April 26 between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Among other things, the two countries discussed the emergence of AI in conjunction with an updated nuclear arms policy, according to Reuters.
Both countries agreed to table the discussions regarding AI and set up future meetings in the coming weeks, according to reports.
