South Korea convened an international two-day summiton Monday (Sep9)seeking to establish a blueprint for the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military. A report by the news agency Reuters said that more than 90 countries, including the United States (US) and China, sent theirrepresentatives to the Summit in Seoul.
"Recently, in the Russia-Ukraine war, an AI-applied Ukrainian drone functioned as David's slingshot,"SouthKorean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun said in the opening address. Defence Minister Kim wasreferring to Ukraine's efforts to gain a technological edge against Russia by rolling out AI-enabled drones.
"As AI is applied to the military domain, the military's operational capabilities are dramatically improved. However, it is like a double-edged sword, as it can cause damage from abuse," he added.
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-and-death decisions without appropriate human oversight.
A senior South Korean official told Reuters that the summithoped to agree to a blueprint for action, establishing a minimum level of guardrails for AI in the military, and suggesting principles on responsible use by reflecting principles laid out by NATO, the USor many other countries.
It was unclear how many nations attending the summit would endorse the document on Tuesday, which is aiming to be a more detailed attempt to set boundaries on AI use in the military, but still likely lack legal commitments.
At the first such summit held in Amsterdam last year, the US, China, and other countries endorsed a modest "call to action" without legal commitment.
However, thesummit is not the only international set of discussions on AI use in the military. UN countries that belongto the 1983 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) have been discussing potential restrictions on lethal autonomous weapons systems for compliance with international humanitarian law.
In 2023, the Joe Biden-led US administrationlaunched a declaration on the responsible use of AI in the military, which covers broader military application of AI, beyond weapons.
As of last month,55 countries endorsed the declaration.
(With inputs from agencies)