Are the nuclear-weapon states aware of the aftermath of AI driven autonomous weapon systems deployment?
The latest hype on AI caused by ChatGPT released in November 2022 shaped the public perception of the dominance of large technology companies in the field of AI. However, state-sponsored AI developments remain neglected. Are
there any regulations available to the public? Are big powers aware of the possible aftermath of AI driven autonomous weapon systems
In the report of the US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence in March 2021, the deepening of the threat posed by cyber attacks and disinformation campaigns by use of AI was delineated. The US Department of Defense (DoD) Directive 3000.09 on Autonomy in Weapon Systems (with the amendments effective January 25, 2023) stipulates that “the DoD will design and engineer AI capabilities… possessing the ability to detect and avoid unintended consequences, and the ability to disengage or deactivate deployed systems that demonstrate unintended behavior”. Thus, the possible aftermath of deployment of AI driven autonomous weapon systems is recognized. Moreover, the public and international community are aware of the procedures implemented.
China has not published any equivalent of DoDD 3000.09, defining its processes for the acquisition, development, testing, and deployment of AI driven autonomous weapon systems. China’s policy on this subject matter could be secret, however the international community should at least be aware of such procedure existence in line with international law of war standards. There should be a clear affirmation that only human beings can authorize the employment of nuclear weapons.
Suffering significant losses in the unleashed war against Ukraine, Russia is trying to get support from China in the field of using AI, possibly for military purposes as well. Recently announced Russian-Chinese regional business forum
with the participation of Premier of the State Council of China and the Russian Prime Minister on May 23 2023 in Shanghai is aimed to establish cooperation on AI. It is expected an open agreement on regulation and application of AI to be developed, the joint centers for AI research and development to be opened by Chinese specialists in Russia, the advancement of a joint metrics for evaluating models in AI, the release of a joint casebook on AI, etc.
The participation of Chinese Artificial Intelligence Industry Alliance, The ational AI team, Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai Jiao Tong and other Universities, as well as the
Russian Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Digital Development of Russia, Alliance on AI, Russian universities and scientific organizations including Skoltech and the National Center for the Development of AI under the Government of Russia gives no clear evidence for AI driven autonomous weapon systems to be discussed. However, who knows what will be talked over in nonpublic consultations?..
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