Experts in AI are urging major global powers, including China and the United States, to collaborate on regulating the military application of AI to prevent heightened risks of nuclear conflict. John Tasioulas, director of Oxford University’s Institute for Ethics in AI, emphasized the necessity of maintaining human oversight, particularly concerning nuclear arsenals, amid growing competition in AI development. He cautioned that while AI poses significant risks, the threat of nuclear war remains a more immediate danger to humanity than autonomous machines.
The integration of AI into military systems is accelerating worldwide, especially among nuclear-armed nations such as the U.S., China, Russia, and others. A Brookings Institution report highlighted a sharp increase in U.S. Department of Defense AI contracts, jumping from $261 million in 2022 to $675 million in 2023. Meanwhile, Israel’s use of AI in the Gaza conflict has sparked debate over its effectiveness in reducing civilian harm, underscoring broader concerns about precision and accountability.
Vladislav Chernavskikh, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, warned that AI’s role in nuclear command, early warning systems, and delivery mechanisms could destabilize strategic balance, raising the likelihood of intentional or accidental escalation. Despite calls for caution—such as China’s 2021 advocacy for restraint and the Biden administration’s 2023 push for risk assessment—no unified international framework exists. Experts like Zhu Feng from Nanjing University stress the need for dialogue among major powers to manage these risks, a sentiment echoed in the 2023 Xi-Biden summit agreement to keep humans in control of nuclear decisions. However, broader cooperation remains elusive.