On Thursday, a high-ranking U.S. official called on China and Russia to join the United States and other nations in declaring that decisions to deploy nuclear weapons would only be made by humans, not artificial intelligence. During an online briefing, Paul Dean, a State Department arms control official, emphasised that the U.S. had made a firm commitment to keep nuclear weapon control exclusively in human hands, noting that France and Britain had made similar pledges.
“We would welcome a similar statement by China and the Russian Federation,” said Dean, principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability.
“We think it is an extremely important norm of responsible behaviour and we think it is something that would be very welcome in a P5 context,” he said, referring to the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Dean’s remarks come as the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden tries to deepen separate discussions with China over both nuclear weapons policy and the growth of artificial intelligence.
The Chinese defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The spread of artificial intelligence technology surfaced during sweeping talks between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on April 26.
Blinken announced that the two sides have agreed to conduct their first bilateral discussions on artificial intelligence in the upcoming weeks, where they plan to exchange ideas on effectively managing the risks and safety associated with the technology.
In an effort to normalise military communications, U.S. and Chinese officials restarted discussions on nuclear weapons in January, although formal arms control negotiations are not anticipated in the near future.
(With Inputs From Reuters)
