Letters | US war with Iran underscores need for global governance of AI
Readers discuss military use of artificial intelligence, the deaths of children as the conflict escalates, and the UN’s role
Three years after OpenAI’s ChatGPT brought AI into everyday life, the world now seems to have psychologically accepted the arrival of the algorithmic assassin. Yet, with that acceptance comes a growing recognition that machines are quietly assuming roles once reserved for human judgment in warfare: selecting targets, analysing threats and perhaps one day taking aim.
On the battlefields of Ukraine, AI-driven tools are directing drones with growing autonomy, raising urgent ethical questions that can no longer be ignored.
Recent tensions between the Pentagon and Anthropic, a firm founded by ex-OpenAI employees who prioritise safety and ethics, underscore an even wider rift between ethical AI development and military ambition.
Such dangers demand a global response. In October 2023, China proposed the Global AI Governance Initiative, a comprehensive framework which called on all nations to exercise caution and responsibility in developing military AI technologies. The initiative emphasises that humans must remain in control of decisions and that AI should serve the goal of increasing the well-being of humanity.