‘Blueprint’ for AI in military gets backing of 60 nations

About 60 nations, including the US, Ukraine, France, Germany, the UK, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, and Pakistan, adopted a ‘blueprint’ endorsing action for the responsible use of AI in military operations, including nuclear weapon systems, at a global summit in Seoul on Tuesday.

The first edition of the “Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM)” summit was held in The Hague last year.

At the two–day Seoul summit, China chose not to support the legally non-binding blueprint that demanded countries create their framework to govern the ethical use of AI on the battlefield. The organizers did not invite Russian representatives due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The Netherlands, Singapore, Kenya, and the UK were the co-hosts of this year’s summit. Defense ministers from these four countries and the second permanent secretary of defense of the UK, Paul Lincoln, attended the summit, along with representatives sent by 96 countries.

The Seoul agreement called for “appropriate human involvement” in AI use, particularly in decisions involving the use of force. The Dutch government, one of the co-hosts of this summit, highlighted that the focus of this summit was to create actionable guidelines.

The guidelines stressed that using AI in military applications should be ethical and human-centric and stressed the need for human judgment during risk assessment.

Citing that the application of AI in the military domain brings with it not only innovation but also challenges, South Korean foreign minister Cho Tae-Yul underscored the importance of norm-setting and governance for responsible AI to ensure international peace and security and to preserve human dignity.

Cho also explained that the Korean government is hosting the REAIM Summit 2024 to promote a balanced understanding of AI’s impact on international peace and security, discuss the implementation of responsible applications of AI in the military domain, and envision future governance of AI in the military domain with multiple stakeholders.

Korean defense minister Kim Yong-Hyun said, “The application of AI in the military domain is a double-edged sword that can enhance military capability and whose abuse and misuse can also lead to unintended consequences.” He also emphasized that promoting a balanced understanding of the responsible use of AI and international cooperation is imperative.

Defense minister of the Netherlands, Ruben Brekelmans, said the REAIM Summit has established itself as a platform for multi-stakeholder dialogue on norms to ensure responsible applications of AI.

Brekelmans also conveyed his expectations that the REAIM Summit 2024 will take the discourse on norms and governance for the responsible use of AI to the next level.

Last year’s Hague summit produced a “call to Action” document, which, too, was endorsed by 60 countries, including China, but it did not entail any binding commitment.