They are called “autonomous” weapons, a definition that leaves room for the imagination for the implications that the use of defensive and offensive tools equipped with artificial intelligence can have. And the concerns are well founded, to the point that the international community will meet in Vienna on Monday at a conference with the aim of arriving at a shared regulation of weapon systems with integrated artificial intelligence (AI).
For a long decade there has been a group of experts sent by governments under the so-called “Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons” (1980) discussing how to regulate autonomous weapons, without there being consensus on a mandate to negotiate international standards binding.
Faced with the increasing speed of the development and use of artificial intelligence, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg warned that “humanity is at a crossroads”.
In his speech to around 900 delegates from 142 countries gathered in the Austrian capital, the minister acknowledged that politics and diplomacy are “always behind” technological evolution.
Oppenheimer moment
According to Schallenberg, the world is facing an “Oppenheimer moment”, referring to the manufacture of the first nuclear bomb in 1945 under scientist Robert Oppenheimer, and the subsequent attempt to prevent the uncontrolled proliferation of such technology around the world.
“We have a small window of opportunity and we should exploit it. We must not miss this chance,” the minister said. “Now is the time to create international rules and norms,” concluded Schallenberg. At the center of the debate is not only the possible uncontrolled proliferation of these increasingly sophisticated weapons, but also the associated legal responsibilities, such as the role of humans in managing and manipulating these systems.
For now, these problems are difficult to resolve in the absence of consensus among great powers in an increasingly polarized and divided world. The United States, home to major weapons companies and some of the leading artificial intelligence firms, is concerned about the risks of these weapons but is reluctant to sign legally binding agreements, so it is betting more on codes of good conduct.
Other major military powers, such as China, India and Russia, are even more reluctant to regulate, a European diplomat told EFE at the conference. European countries, meanwhile, “are caught between the two positions,” the source explained on condition of anonymity, referring to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which threatens European security.
Costa Rica works on an international convention
Among those invited to the conference – which does not intend to make specific decisions – there was also the Foreign Minister of Costa Rica, Arnoldo André Tinoco, whose government is promoting the search for rules and regulations for the control of these weapons at a regional level. “The idea is to create, through this conference and other regional conferences, awareness in the community of states on the need to regulate autonomous weapons, in order to arrive at the drafting of an international convention,” Tinoco told EFE.
“The progress of AI is evident, we are seeing it in today’s armed conflicts. Autonomous weapons are not an invention of the future, they are used today. It is the right time to stop their indiscriminate use,” the minister said.
Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, president of the International Red Cross, said AI has the potential for humans to “lose control over the use of violence.” From the point of view of international humanitarian law, this is “a great challenge, not to say problematic”, said the head of the International Red Cross, warning that many armies, especially in larger countries, invest heavily in AI to support weapons systems.
For Egger, the mere existence of international regulation, even without the participation of a few large countries, will have a significant impact.
At the end of Tuesday’s conference, the Austrian Presidency of the meeting plans to publish a summary of the interventions to highlight the key points needed for a future legal instrument capable of regulating autonomous weapons.