US Urges China-Russia to Declare Only Humans Control Nuclear Weapons, Not Artificial Intelligence

Illustration. (Unsplash/Dan Meyers)

JAKARTA - A senior United States official on Thursday urged China and Russia to conform to statements by the United States and other countries that only humans and not artificial intelligence will make decisions on the use of nuclear weapons.

US State Department arms control official Paul Dean said in an online briefing Washington had made a "clear and strong commitment" humanity had full control over nuclear weapons, adding France and Britain had also done the same.

"We would welcome similar statements from China and the Russian Federation," said Dean, principal deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Arms Control, Prevention and Stability, as reported by Reuters, May 2.

"We think this is a very important norm of responsible behavior and we think this is something that would be very welcome in the context of the P5," he said, referring to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Dean's remarks come as US President Joe Biden's administration tries to deepen separate discussions with Beijing over nuclear weapons policy and the growth of artificial intelligence. China's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The spread of artificial intelligence technology emerged during talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on April 26.

The two sides agreed to hold their first bilateral talks on artificial intelligence in the coming weeks, Secretary of State Blinken said, adding they would share views on how best to manage the risks and safety around the technology.

As part of the normalization of military communications, officials from Uncle Sam and the Bamboo Curtain country resumed nuclear weapons discussions in January, but formal arms control negotiations are not expected to take place in the near future.

China, which is expanding its nuclear weapons capabilities, insisted in February that the largest nuclear powers first negotiate a nuclear weapons ban treaty with each other.