At a time when the use of artificial intelligence has triggered a raging conversation all over – with ChatGPT catching attention worldwide – the Netherlands is set to host a two-day conference from Wednesday (February 15) on risks, challenges, and responsibilities linked to the use of AI during a conflict. Hailed as the first global summit on responsible AI in the military domain, REAIM 2023 is being held in The Hague – often termed as “the international city of peace and justice” –  and the Republic of Korea is the co-host, an official statement highlighted. 

The conference is set to see participation from 50 nations, including the United States, and China, as per the news agency Reuters. Russia, however, has not been invited due to the Ukraine war, which completes a year on February 24. Talking points at the session would be governance frameworks, responsible deployment and myth-busting. The Ukraine conflict is also expected to come up during the discussions. 

One of the biggest challenges associated with the deployment of AI in war is the lack of human control and the possibility of escalation of violence. An agreement from the participating delegations is likely.  “AI is developing at a rapid pace, including in the military domain,” Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said last year at the United Nations General Assembly in New York when he made the announcement about the conference. “This new technology is set to become one of the greatest challenges we will face in the area of international security and arms control. If we don’t make international agreements now about frameworks for the responsible development, deployment and use of AI, we will regret it later,” he stressed. Hoekstra has also insisted that bringing international stakeholders together on the issue “is an idea for which the time has come”. 

The conference is being held at a time when everyone is talking about chatbot ChatGPT developed by American research firm OpenAI in November. From making resumes to cracking jokes, giving relationship advice, jokes and doing complex tasks such as coding, the chatbot is useful in a wide variety of tasks. It has, however, also triggered various concerns about the extent of use after it passed an MBA exam recently. The AI tool has also pitted tech giants Microsoft and Google against each other with discussions being held on the future of search engines.

While tech aficionados are still understanding more about ChatGPT, the Dutch conference will tackle a much bigger issue of war and AI where “slaughterbots” might also figure in talks. “The summit is expected to attract a live audience of between 1,000 and 1,500 participants in The Hague, including government ministers, policymakers, academics, business leaders, civil society organisations and journalists from all over the world,” the Dutch foreign ministry underlined ahead of the first-of-its-kind event. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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