At a defense forum discussion on strategic stability in Singapore, the dangers of artificial intelligence outweighed those of nuclear weapons, with panellists warning that AI could shorten reaction times and lead to rash decisions.Breaking the so-called “OODA cycle” – short for Observe, Orient, Decide and Act – creates a fog in which “human beings cannot assess the situation quickly enough,” said Lt. Gen. Nauman Zakriya, commander of the Pakistan Army’s First Corps and Army Rocket Force Command. “People will act irrationally and they will act in extreme ways,” he said during a discussion at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday.These concerns were echoed by Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the only panellist not directly involved in defense and security. She warned that while technology has the power to improve lives, it also significantly increases the dangers of war.“We don’t know where to pull the trigger,” SpoliaRick said. “It could be thousands of kilometers away. So while AI has the potential to protect civilians, we’re currently seeing only the negative side.”Nuclear weapons continue to figure prominently in discussions as a classic example of strategic deterrence. Chinese People’s Liberation Army Major General Meng Xiangqing reiterated China’s no-first-use policy of nuclear weapons, adding that the world would become a safer place if more countries took this stance. “If we can do that, we can reduce risk and we can further enhance strategic stability,” he said.The conversation repeatedly returned to artificial intelligence. Dutch Defense Minister General Onno Eshelsheim pointed out that this technology is already on the battlefield, and the Ukrainians use it to predict Russian attacks. The United States has also said it deployed artificial intelligence in planning attacks by Iran.“There’s a huge risk in terms of scaling up with AI. I think that’s pretty clear,” Eichelheim said. “But I’m not naive. Anyone who knows how to use it in the field is already using it.”(This is a report from Bloomberg)
