The AI Military Race : Common Good Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

This book examines the complexities of creating a global framework to govern the military use of artificial intelligence (AI) by proposing inclusive and humane ways to forge cooperation. Three novel humanist conceptions are introduced: common good governance, transnational networked cooperation, and humanity’s security. This book is the first to survey the threats to peace in the shifting world order by investigating the current patterns and trends in the global use of and investment in militarizing AI and the development of autonomous systems. The author weaves in an insider participant-observer focus on the decade-long, high-level diplomatic attempts to set limits on autonomy in weapon systems—known as “killer robots”—and offers a path for the creation of an international treaty on autonomous weapons. The absence of global norms on military AI and unrestrained autonomous killing will have a destabilizing impact on peace and security by weakening the prevailing international law and rules of peaceful multilateralism. The consequences will be imperiled peace and security, weakened international stability, and a precarious world order. The study draws on earlier successful cooperation and international law-making in several areas: nuclear and chemical weapons bans, the protection of outer space and the ozone, nuclear testing, the Arctic, Antarctica, and the oceans. It offers an appraisal of the way that previous successes in global cooperation can inform the formation of common good governance on AI that is respectful of future generations and protective of human dignity and humanity’s security. Cover Copyright Dedication Foreword Acknowledgments Contents List of figures List of tables Introduction: Artificial intelligence to benefit humanity The bookʼs significance Civil and military AI From the militarization to the weaponization of AI Key definitions Transnational networked cooperation Common good governance for a shifting global order:A more inclusive and humanistic approach The global geopolitical context The precedents to autonomous killing A robot world Notes Chapter 1: Transnational networked cooperation PART I From autonomous weapons to the militarization of artificial intelligence The global investment in the militarization of AI and autonomous killing Autonomy and AI for war Maintaining human contro PART II Transnational networked cooperation The Scientists: Sounding the alarm first and alerting the world The principles of common good and safe AI The scientistsʼ letters: Meaning and impact The private sector Transnational advocacy for humanity: The Campaign to Stop Killer Robots The guardian of the laws of war: The position and significance of the International Committee of the Red Cross Member states of the United Nations Notes Chapter 2: Common good governance PART I Humanityʼs security From national to human to humanityʼs security Getting security wrong and leaving people everywhere vulnerable PART II Common good governance Start with what protects the planet: The global commons AI as a global common Cooperation to protect the life-sustaining domains:Global commons law Ensuring intergenerational equity Global cooperation that benefits humanity The protection of the oceans Cooperation in outer space Protection of the atmosphere and the ozone layer:Precautionary action Protection of Antarctica The Arctic: Comity for peace Prohibition on nuclear testing Notes Chapter 3: The dynamics of international diplomacy High-stakes diplomacy at the United Nations Instability and insecurity Global AI militarization Global governance action: Champions and detractors The United Nations and peace The AI for Good Global Movement The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Goal 16: AI and its role in the promotion of peace and security The United Nations AI for Good Global Summit series Steps to common good governance under international law Notes Chapter 4: Legal and political frameworks What is international law, and what is its role in forming common good governance? Is existing international law enough? How the weaponization of AI disrupts international law Relevant applicable branches of international law State responsibility Governing the resort to force: War made illegal International humanitarian law Will new IHL be needed? The legal position and unique role of the International Committee of the Red Cross International human rights protection International criminal acts Emerging or desirable international norms: The basis of common good governance Notes Chapter 5: War, humanityʼs security, and arms: Existing global norms Evolutions and revolutions in warfare technologies Foundational frameworks for arms limitations Weapons of mass destruction: Focus on nuclear weapons Nuclear deterrence is obsolete A humanitarian perspective The United Nations Charter as a foundational framework for arms limitations The case for prohibition Legalizing the nuclear taboo Prohibition of chemical weapons—the universal model framework Conventional arms: What can we learn from existing legal restrictions? How international norms evolve Humanityʼs security: Fewer arms, more prosperity Annex: Preventive measures in international relations Notes Chapter 6: A global framework to govern military AI: Transnational networked cooperation and common good governance Transnational networked cooperation and common good governance Pillars to create common good governance Pillar 1. An emerging international norm on the peaceful uses of AI AI as a global common A new treaty on autonomous weapons advances in military AI Pillar 2. Risk assessment based upon preventive precautionary action Pillar 3. Lessons learned from previous global cooperation Cases and lessons learned: precepts for a military AI framework) Ocean law Ozone healing Arctic: cooperation despite all odds Antarctica: Zone of peace Outer space cooperation Prohibition of nuclear tests Lessons from previous prohibitions on means and methods of warfare The need for common good governance Notes Index In The AI Military Race, Denise Garcia examines the complexities entailed in creating a global framework to govern the military use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by proposing inclusive and humane ways to forge cooperation. Three novel humanist conceptions are introduced: common good governance, transnational networked cooperation, and humanity's security. This academic volume is the first to survey the threats to peace in the shifting world order by investigating the current patterns and trends in the global use of, and investment in, militarizing AI and the development of autonomous systems. Garcia weaves in an insider participant-observer focus on the decade-long high-level diplomatic attempts to set limits in autonomy in weapons systems - known as'killer robots'- and offers a path for the creation of an international treaty on autonomous weapons, and ways to create common good governance for the militarization of AI. This important study draws on earlier successful cooperation and international law-making in several areas including conventional arms, nuclear and chemical weapons bans, the protection of outer space and the ozone, the Arctic, Antarctica, and the oceans. It offers an appraisal of the way that previous successes in global cooperation can inform the formation of common good governance on AI that is respectful of future generations and protective of human dignity and the common good of humanity. The world is at a critical juncture. Ill-considered conceptions of national security have led to imprudent wars, millions of lives lost, and trillions of dollars wasted without making anyone more secure. Now, the world is at an extreme point of insecurity. The very same permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, charged with saving future generations from the scourge of war, flagrantly violate international law and threaten to undermine nearly a century of progress toward peace. Greatpowercompetitionisafollythatmustend,asitdivertscriticalresources away from truly important global issues. Its worst possible outcomes range from nuclearwartodystopianautonomousweaponsandsurveillancesystemsinthehands of despots. It is not possible to achieve genuine security on a unilateral basis in the world today. Common good governance toward humanity’s security is the way forward