Morocco to host talks on 'worrying' prospect of AI chemical weapons

Morocco will host talks this year on what was described on Friday as the worrying prospect of artificial intelligence being used to develop chemical weapons.

Scientists and diplomats will meet in Rabat in October to address fears that AI could help create new toxic substances.

AI poses a “high risk” at a time of global tensions, Fernando Arias, head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, told a meeting of experts in Berlin, Germany, on Friday.

The use of chemical weapons is prohibited by several international treaties dating back to the post-World War I period.

However, they were used by Saddam Hussein's Iraq and Bashar Al Assad's Syria, and the United States accused Russia of deploying them in Ukraine.

Mr. Arias said that due to “global instability, geopolitical adversity and open wars declared and underway, the possibility of using weapons of mass destruction is not just theoretical.”

He added that “we will not be able to completely neutralize the risks posed by artificial intelligence.”

“We are just beginning to realize the potential of artificial intelligence. Not much is clear, but it is clear that artificial intelligence poses a high risk,” he said.

“Science and technology add complexity and improve the effectiveness of weapons. Among these new technologies, artificial intelligence is perhaps the most worrying and challenging factor.

“[It] “It adds more precision to weapons and increases the lethality of existing weapons, which means it contributes to eroding the structure of disarmament, which is not, as you know, at the best time in history. »

Qatar, China, Germany, Spain and South Korea will fund the Moroccan event on “changing and evolving risks” in the field.

AI is already being used by drugmakers to discover new types of drugs, in one of its potentially positive applications in healthcare.

But two years ago, an alarming story revealed that an AI experiment suggested ideas for 40,000 potentially toxic substances in just six hours.

There are also fears that an AI-powered cyberattack could alter chemical manufacturing, leading to disastrous consequences.

Gunter Sautter, a German foreign ministry official responsible for arms control, said AI-created pathogens “could pose a serious challenge” to the ban on biological weapons.

There is also a “key question” around AI and cybersecurity for countries with nuclear weapons command and control systems, he said.

The world may need to “readjust the boundary between freedom of scientific research and scientific responsibility,” he said.

“We need to look at what steps we can take within the framework of multilateral arms control. We need to consider how arms export control regimes should be adapted. »

Updated: June 28, 2024, 4:48 p.m.