A senior U.S. official on Thursday urged China and Russia to match statements by the United States and others that only humans, and never artificial intelligence, would make decisions about deploying nuclear weapons.
State Department arms control official Paul Dean told an online briefing that Washington had made a “clear and firm commitment” that humans would have full control over nuclear weapons, adding that France and Britain had done the same.
“We would welcome a similar statement from China and the Russian Federation,” said Paul Dean, deputy assistant secretary at the Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence and Stability.
“We think it is an extremely important standard of responsible behavior and we think it is something that would be very welcome in a P5 context,” he said, referring to the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Paul Dean's comments come as US President Joe Biden's administration seeks to deepen separate discussions with China over both nuclear weapons policy and the growth of artificial intelligence.
China's Ministry of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The spread of artificial intelligence technology came to light during major talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing on April 26.
The two sides agreed to hold their first bilateral talks on artificial intelligence in the coming weeks, Blinken said, adding that they would share their views on how best to manage the risks and security surrounding the technology.
As part of normalizing military communications, U.S. and Chinese officials resumed discussions on nuclear weapons in January, but formal arms control negotiations are not expected anytime soon.
China, which is expanding its nuclear weapons capabilities, insisted in February that the major nuclear powers should first negotiate a no-first-use treaty among themselves.
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