Dutch summit focuses on military use of AI

Chatbots have captured the attention of the world, but should we be more concerned with "slaughterbots"?

It is scheduled that the Netherlands will be hosting the first international conference on the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in military operations next week.

There are approximately 50 countries expected to attend the meeting, which will take place in The Hague on February 15 and 16. A declaration is expected to be produced at the conclusion of the meeting.

The invasion of Ukraine has not led to an invitation to Russia.

On Thursday, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra told a small group of journalists that this was a crucial moment in the future of AI in the military.

It is essential to ensure that human beings participate in the decision-making process in an area that involves life and death, regardless of all the flaws built into our DNA."

Military applications of artificial intelligence include reconnaissance, surveillance, and situational analysis.

The topic of one of the conference sessions on the future of warfare is "Regulating Slaughterbots," but fully autonomous killing machines are still a long way off.

Nevertheless, artificial intelligence with the capability of selecting targets autonomously could be just around the corner.

AI is also being used in nuclear command and control systems, such as drone swarms and so-called drone swarms.

According to Hoekstra, the purpose of the conference is to begin the process of developing international rules on "what is acceptable, what is not acceptable" when it comes to the use of AI in military applications.

In the war Russia is waging against Ukraine, you can already see the use of AI."

Using the example of chatbots, he compared the debate to the debate surrounding the use of AI bots similar to ChatGPT, which has beneficial uses, but has also been used to cheat and write essays by students.

The minister stated that the issue was not merely something to be frightened by.

The Dutch government invited China to attend the conference as a leading player in the fields of technology and artificial intelligence.

A number of high-ranking diplomats and ministers will be attending the REAIM (Responsible AI in the Military Domain) summit, which will also be attended by tech firms and experts.