The United States government has issued a declaration on the use of artificial intelligence in the armed forces, incorporating ‘human accountability’. Techxplore reports.
“We invite all states to join us in implementing international norms concerning the military development and use of AI and autonomous weapons,” said the Deputy Secretary of State for Arms Control Bonnie Jenkins.
She said the new technology could change the way war is fought, so the international community needs to regulate its use.
“As this is a rapidly evolving technology, we must establish strict norms of responsible conduct regarding the use of AI in military purposes and thus keep in mind that the deployment of AI by the military will undoubtedly change in the years to come,” she said.
The official noted that the declaration has no binding legal force. The document could form the basis for future international cooperation, she said.
Jenkins unveiled the declaration at the end of a two-day conference in The Hague on the use of AI in military affairs. The document contains 12 points. Among the key proposals:
- The use of the technology in accordance with international law;
- Maintaining human control over decisions to deploy and use nuclear weapons.
Sixty countries, including the United States and China, spoke at the conference urging broad cooperation on the use of autonomous technologies in the armed forces.
“We have time to reduce risks and prevent AI from getting out of control […]. We will prevent AI from taking us to a place where we do not want to be,” said Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra.
The official stressed “the importance of ensuring proper guarantees and human control over the use of autonomous systems, given the constraints of time and capability”.
The Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands, Tan Jian, reminded that sent to the UN two documents regulating the military applications of AI. He said that this issue “concerns the common safety and well-being of humanity, which requires a unified response from all countries”.
The participating states also proposed to develop national frameworks, strategies and principles for responsible AI in the military sphere.
In December 2021, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged take measures against ‘lethal autonomous weapons’.
In the same month, the organization halted talks on regulating autonomous weapons.