More than 90 countries, including the United States and China, have sent government representatives to the two-day summit in Seoul, which is the second such meeting.
At the first summit in Amsterdam last year, the United States, China and other nations endorsed a modest “call to action” without legal commitment.
“Recently, in the war between Russia and Ukraine, a Ukrainian drone equipped with artificial intelligence worked like David’s slingshot,” South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun said in his opening speech.
He was referring to Ukraine’s efforts to gain a technological edge over Russia by deploying drones equipped with artificial intelligence, in the hope that they will help overcome signal jamming and allow unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to work in larger groups.
“As AI is applied to the military, the operational capabilities of the armed forces are dramatically improved. However, it is like a double-edged sword as it can cause harm if abused,” Kim said.
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South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said discussions would cover areas such as a legal review to ensure compliance with international law and mechanisms to prevent autonomous weapons from making life-or-death decisions without proper human oversight. The Seoul summit was expected to agree on an action plan, setting a minimum level of barriers for AI in the military and suggesting principles on responsible use that mirror principles set by NATO, the U.S. or several other countries, according to a senior South Korean official.
It was unclear how many nations attending the summit would back the document on Tuesday, which is intended to be a more detailed attempt to set limits on the use of AI in the military but is still likely to lack legal commitments.
The summit is not the only international set of discussions on the use of AI in the military field.
UN countries that are party to the 1983 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons are discussing possible restrictions on lethal autonomous weapons systems to comply with international humanitarian law.
Last year, the US government also released a statement on the responsible use of AI in the military, which covers broader military applications of AI beyond weapons. As of August, 55 countries had endorsed the statement.
The Seoul summit, co-hosted by the Netherlands, Singapore, Kenya and the UK, aims to ensure ongoing multi-stakeholder discussions in a field where technological advances are largely driven by the private sector but governments are the main decision-makers.
Around 2,000 people from around the world have registered to take part in the summit, including representatives from international organisations, academia and the private sector, to attend discussions on topics such as civil protection and the use of AI in nuclear arms control.
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