UN flags military use of AI

MANILA, Philippines — Artificial intelligence (AI) is being given a growing number of responsibilities in military affairs, and the role of human judgment in military operations is shrinking rapidly, the head of the United Nations’ independent disarmament research institute warned.

United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) Director Robin Geiss said on Tuesday that AI is being widely used on the battlefield and AI was increasingly “on track to crowding out human decision-making” in the sector.

“Crucially, this comes at the expense of human judgement, including in the nuclear domain,” Geiss said.

Many of these evolving AI systems are opaque, and the UNIDIR chief warned they are increasing the risk of error, miscalculation and therefore of unintended escalation.