ARGUABLY, today’s world has been profoundly transformed because of the multiple impact of emerging technologies — or algorithms — posing multifarious soft and hard power security threats. Soft power, security challenges include: human ethics, human autonomy, diplomacy and international law; the hard power challenges cover AI use in military technologies, particularly its use of autonomous weapons. Thus, in order to address the challenges of transparency and accountability vis-a-vis the AI use, Pakistan has called for a comprehensive global framework regarding the safe use of artificial intelligence.
Soft power security threats: Since time immemorial humans have sought “autonomy”, the feeling that one is acting in accordance with their goals and values. Today, the meaning of and the path towards autonomy are being reassessed in the context of the growing impact of artificial intelligence (AI). Admittedly, our increasing reliance on artificial intelligence is posing threat to personal privacy, human connection, identity and security. This impact is sometimes seen as a dialectical relationship where humans are in constant conflict with machines, or as a synergistic one, in which the two need to collaborate efficiently. Undeniably, the impact of AI is broader than just this experiential interface and involves ethics, social, cultural and economic issues, all of which may affect the wellbeing of technology users.
Arguably, if AI is to support human wellbeing, developers need to consider the impact of AI on users’ experience of autonomy. The world governments must describe a model for the design of computer systems that takes autonomy into account as a basic human need thereby jettisoning the notion of predominant human dependency on machines. Moreover, cyber-attacks may occur ‘’corrupting the process during which the AI system is created so that the resulting system malfunctions in a way desired by the attacker’ ’thereby causing security threats to banking data, state institutions and state sovereignty. Moreover, the AI use (GPT 4) could pose major threats to the ethics of education, research and diplomacy. Downsizing in global employment seems imminent as the Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates prognosticates that using AI could lead a three-day week work.
AI & great powers’ weaponisation. AI is being integrated into UAVs, LAWS, missile defence systems, submarines and aircraft. The US National Security Strategy 2022 focuses on joint capability development and information sharing among allies while, simultaneous deployment of such technologies in a timely manner to safeguard a shared military-technological edge. Under the third offset Strategy, the US has introduced a Global Surveillance and Strike (GSS) system to counter the proliferation of critical disruptive technologies among others.
Chinese ambition is to become an AI superpower by 2030. In 2022, China claimed to succeed in developing AI enabled air defence system model to predict the trajectory of a hypersonic glide missiles while being able to launch a swift counterattack. China has deployed robotics and unmanned systems in land, air, sea and space domains. Russia is focused on use of AI in maritime domain which includes swarm of underwater combat drones. Russian President Putin thinks that Russia must counter the threats posed by the western AI.
AI & legal global efforts underway: Since 2018, UN’s intergovernmental panel is actively engaged on this issue. On 25 November 2021, under the UNSECO auspices, all 193 UN member states adopted a historic agreement that defines the common values and principles needed to ensure the healthy development of AI. As recently as 27 October, the UN’s Secretary Antonio Gutrres appointed 39-member global advisory panel to report on international governance artificial intelligence and its risks, challenges and key opportunities.
Additionally, the Bletchley declaration on the AI safety summit (2 November), by 28 countries and the European Union, hosted at Bletchley Park, Central England (November 2) is aimed at enhancing efforts to fulfilling objectives in establishing shared agreement and responsibility on the risks, opportunities regarding the use of the artificial intelligence..
AI and humanitarian obligations: fairly, the notion of State responsibility can be invoked for the wrongful use of AI-enabled technologies in the battlefield, negligent development or procurement of AI technologies (including in case of failure to integrate international norms in AI design and development) and failure to ensure respect for international law, particularly the instrument of international humanitarian law in an armed conflict. Here, the developed world must avoid a ‘pick-and-choose’ approach to ethics. Make no mistake, stipulating conditions on the access of humanitarian aid to the conflict zone, is a war crime under Geneva Convention. As for the application of the International Humanitarian Law (IHL) vis-à-vis the Autonomous Weapons System (AWS), in my humble opinion, the Meaningful Human Control (MHC) doctrine (the pivotal premise of the IHL), must be proactively upheld.
Needless to say, global North and global South are equally concerned about the security threats posed by the artificial intelligence. Thus, to uphold AI regulation and transparency, ‘’state responsibility under international law has a complementary function next to other responsibility frameworks which, together, have the potential to comprehensively ensure accountability at all levels’’. This is the time of collective responsibility to take prompt safety measures regarding the use of artificial intelligence.
It is here that as a responsible state, Pakistan calls for focusing on the ethical use of the AI. It is highly imperative that “any new technology of warfare must be used and must be capable of being used, in compliance with existing rules of International Humanitarian Law”. “Pakistan emphasises the need for international cooperation to develop a legally binding framework governing the responsible uses of cyberspace and artificial intelligence technologies,” the Foreign Secretary said while addressing the concluding session of a three day workshop (22-24 Nov) — jointly organized via a collaboration with the Geneva-based United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the Islamabad-based Centre for International Strategic Studies (CISS).
“The weaponisation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is just not a theory, it has become a reality. In the ongoing conflict in Gaza, AI plays a dominant role. It is the time to address the implications of AI in warfare,” said Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairperson of the Senate Defence Committee of Pakistan while addressing to the CISS participants. To conclude, amid the ongoing global concerns, AI’s transcendentalism propels the need of a strategy to rebalance our technological requirements with that of our human values.
—The writer, an independent ‘IR’ researcher-cum-international law analyst based in Pakistan, is member of European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on IR, Critical Peace & Conflict Studies, also a member of Washington Foreign Law Society and European Society of International Law. He deals with the strategic and nuclear issues.
Email: [email protected]
views expressed are writer’s own.
