The first international conference on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military, as is already happening in Ukraine, opened in the Netherlands on Wednesday with a view to regulating the “destructive” power of drones and robots.
“AI is everywhere, it is changing the way we live, it is changing the way we work, and it is clearly changing the military,” Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said at the opening of the conference, attended by some 50 countries, including the United States and China, and held in The Hague.
Russia was not invited because of its invasion of Ukraine.
“Imagine a missile hitting an apartment building. In a fraction of a second, the AI can detect its impact and indicate where survivors might be,” Hoekstra said.
“Even more impressive, the AI could have intercepted the missile in the first place,” “but it also has the potential to destroy in seconds, and that’s worrying,” he added.
AI already used for reconnaissance, surveillance
AI is already used by the military for reconnaissance, surveillance and situation analysis and could in future be capable of autonomous target selection, including drone swarms, and use in nuclear command and control systems.
The conference aims to take a first step towards regulating its use in the military, similar to international agreements on chemical and nuclear weapons.
“In Ukraine, we are unfortunately already witnessing the influence of new technologies, including drones and cyber-attacks,” Hoekstra said.
“We are also witnessing how Russia violates international humanitarian law in the most brutal way,” he added.
China is invited to the conference as a key player in the technology and AI sector, according to Dutch officials.
High-ranking ministers and diplomats are attending the summit, called REAIM (Responsible AI in the Military), alongside companies and experts.
