About a third of the countries that participated in the military AI summit on Thursday agreed to adopt a declaration on regulating the use of this technology in warfare, but military giants China and the United States refused to participate, Reuters reports, writes UNN.
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Tensions between the United States and European allies, and uncertainty about what transatlantic ties will look like in the coming months and years, have made some countries hesitant to sign joint agreements, several participants and delegates said.
This commitment underscores the growing concern among some governments that the rapid development of artificial intelligence could outpace regulations for its military application, increasing the risk of accidents, miscalculations, or unintended escalation.
Governments face a "prisoner's dilemma," caught between the need to impose responsible restrictions and the unwillingness to limit themselves compared to adversaries, said Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans.
"Russia and China are moving very fast. This creates the need for urgent progress in AI development. But rapid development also reinforces the need to continue working on its responsible use. These two factors are interconnected," he said in comments to Reuters.
Only 35 out of 85 countries participating in the Summit on Responsible Use of AI in the Military (REAIM) in La Coruña, Spain, on Thursday signed a commitment to 20 principles in the field of AI.
These include affirming human responsibility for AI-enabled weapons, encouraging clear chains of command and control, and sharing information on national oversight mechanisms "where consistent with national security."
The document also emphasizes the importance of risk assessment, robust testing, training, and upskilling of personnel working with military AI assets.
At two previous military AI summits in The Hague and Seoul in 2023 and 2024, respectively, about 60 countries, excluding China but including the United States, endorsed a modest "plan of action" without legal obligations.
While this year's document also lacked binding legal force, some were still uncomfortable with the idea of endorsing more specific policy decisions, said Yasmin Afina, a research fellow at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, an advisor to the process.
On Thursday, the main signatories included Canada, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Ukraine.