No AI but humans must control nuclear weapons: US to China, Russia

Washington: The US urged China and Russia to only allow humans and not AIs to make decisions on deploying nuclear weapons, as per the declarations by the United States and others, Reuters reported.

An official of the US State Department arms control, Paul Dean, said at an online briefing that the US administration has made it clear that humans must have total control over nuclear weapons. He added that France and Britain did the same.

The principal deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability, Paul Dean, said that they would welcome similar statements from China and the Russian Federation. They think that it is an extremely important norm of responsible behaviour, and they think it is something that would be very welcome in a P5 context. He was referring to the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

Dean's remarks comes in the wake of US President Joe Biden attempts to deepen separate discussions with China over both nuclear weapons policy and the growth of artificial intelligence.

The Chinese defence ministry is yet to respond to requests for comments.

During the talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on April 26, the spread of artificial intelligence was mentioned. Both the nations agreed to hold their first bilateral talks on artificial intelligence in the weeks to come, Blinken had said. The talks would share views on how best to manage risks and safety surrounding the technology, he added.