China submits position paper on regulating military applications of AI

China submitted its position paper on regulating the military applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the sixth review conference of the United Nations (UN) Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons opened here on Monday.

Li Song, Chinese Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs, said that the position paper is China's first proposal to regulate the military applications of AI, and it is also the first of its kind under the framework of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons.

"The document focuses on important issues such as the research and development, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence for military applications, and proposes solutions on how to develop and use artificial intelligence technology in the military field," Li said.

According to the Chinese envoy, the rapid development and wide applications of AI technology have profoundly changed the way people work and live, bringing "great opportunities as well as unforeseeable security challenges" to the world.

"One particular concern is the long-term impacts and potential risks of military applications of AI technology in such aspects as strategic security, rules on governance, and ethics," the position paper said.

It added that AI-related security governance is a common challenge for mankind. With wide applications of AI in various fields, there are widespread concerns regarding the risks of military applications and even the weaponization of AI.

"As world peace and development are confronted with multifaceted challenges, countries should embrace a vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable global security, seek consensus on regulating military applications of AI through dialogue and cooperation, and establish an effective governance regime in order to prevent serious harms or even disasters caused by military applications of AI to mankind," the position paper noted.

"We need to enhance the efforts to regulate military applications of AI with a view to forestalling and managing potential risks," it said.

"Such efforts will help promote mutual trust among countries, safeguard global strategic stability, prevent arms race and alleviate humanitarian concerns. It will also contribute to building an inclusive and constructive security partnership and striving for the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind in the AI field."