Representatives of the United States and China are set to attend a summit on the “responsible” use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military, held in the Netherlands.
It is not known if the 50 participating countries will agree to any statement of principles.
The conference is organized as a result of the AI popularity trend that began with the ChatGPT inauguration some two months ago.
Organizers decided not to invite representatives from the Russian Federation because of the ongoing aggression in Ukraine, which will also be discussed. The event will last from Feb. 15 to 16 in The Hague.
Thank you to Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands @WBHoekstra 🇳🇱 for inviting us to the @REAIMsummit – and for putting responsible #AI in the military domain at the top of the political agenda 🌐
We're looking forward to getting started tomorrow! 🗨💡🛠 pic.twitter.com/4MtrO30Izd
— UN Institute for Disarmament Research (@UNIDIR) February 14, 2023
“This is an idea for which the time has come,” Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said before the start of the event.
“We’re taking the first step in articulating and working toward what responsible use of AI in the military will be.” Netherlands Foreign Minister added.
Some 2,000 participants including experts and academics will attend the conference to discuss the problems of striking drones and killing bots.
The U.S. Department of Defense should assess if the topic will be brought to the field of international law regulations.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands referred to a position paper in which China underlined the need to avoid “strategic miscalculations” with AI and to ensure it does not accidentally escalate a conflict.
The impact of artificial intelligence on international peace and security represents a core area of UNIDIR’s work 🤖✨🌐🔍
That’s why we’re looking forward to taking part in the @REAIMsummit on Responsible AI in the Military Domain, starting tomorrow in The Hague 🇳🇱 [1/3] pic.twitter.com/e3kdvVFDse
— UN Institute for Disarmament Research (@UNIDIR) February 14, 2023
Since 2014 U.N. countries that signed the 1983 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) have been discussing possible limitations on lethal autonomous weapons systems which are designed to decide to kill without human intervention.
Research on responsible #AI for the military domain presented at #REAIM2023. @hoven_j, @doctorsds and @stefanbuijsman from TU Delft Digital Ethics Centre lead the academic forum with discussions about meaningful human control and much more. More info: https://t.co/34D2RWw5B9 pic.twitter.com/JmI4E7wgPW
— TU Delft (@tudelft) February 14, 2023
Hoekstra said the summit will not replace that debate but will look at other aspects of military AI.
“We are moving into a field that we do not know, for which we do not have guidelines, rules, frameworks, or agreements. But we will need them sooner rather than later,” Hoekstra said.