Military Applications of AI, International Security, and Arms Control Workshop

Military Applications of AI, International Security, and Arms Control Workshop

Toni Erskine

Presented at the Military Applications of AI, International Security, and Arms Control', hosted by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research january 2020.

Professor Toni Erskine, HMI Discovery Lead, was invited to a workshop on 'Military Applications of AI, International Security, and Arms Control', hosted by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, convened by David Danks (Carnegie Mellon University), Paul Meyer (Simon Fraser University), and Giaocomo Paoli (UNIDIR).  The workshop was held on the 30th and 31st of January 2020 in Santa Monica, California.  The objective of the Workshop was described by the convenors as follows:

'...to conduct a deeper assessment of the feasibility and potential impact of different soft regulatory approaches for AI applications that could advance international peace, security, and stability. Insights and observations from this event will inform international security policy discussions at the United Nations and beyond in order to encourage more productive deliberations about effective and nimble measures that support development and deployment of beneficial AI while minimizing potential destabilizing applications.'

The workshop provided Professor Erskine with the opportunity to discuss her recent research on one set of risks that she argues are associated with AI-enabled military weapons and decision support systems; namely, that they make the individual and institutional agents that deploy, operate, and are guided these tools less likely to assume responsibility for their decisions and actions, thereby potentially undermining international norms of restraint.