A senior US official has urged China and Russia to make declarations similar to those issued by the United States and other nations, affirming that “only humans, not artificial intelligence, will make decisions regarding the deployment of nuclear weapons.”
Paul Dean, the US State Department’s arms control official, emphasised that the United States has made a “clear and strong commitment” to ensuring that humans retain complete control over nuclear weapons. He noted that France and the United Kingdom have made similar declarations.
“We would welcome a similar statement from China and the Russian Federation,” Dean said. “We believe this is a very important standard for responsible behaviour and one that would be greatly welcomed in the context of the five permanent members,” referring to the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Dean’s comments come as President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to deepen separate discussions with Beijing on nuclear weapons policy and the growth of artificial intelligence.
The administration aims to address the potential risks posed by AI in the context of nuclear weapons and to foster international consensus on maintaining human control over such critical decisions.
