The U.S. State Department has partnered with Nigeria to advance the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the military.
Mallory Stewart, whose role at the State Department focuses on arms control and stability, recently discussed the use of AI in military operations with the Nigerian Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Defense, National Security Advisor, civil society and other officials from the ECOWAS regional bloc.
The US is on a global tour to drum up support for its initiative to create guardrails for the use of AI in the military. The initiative, which is supported by 55 countries, advocates using AI “in a way that is consistent with international law and recognizes inherent human biases,” Stewart told reporters in Abuja.
“We learned the hard way that there is an inherent human bias in the AI system, which may result in incorrect information being provided to the decision maker,” she added.
This is not the first time that the US government has collaborated with Nigeria on AI. Earlier this year, the American government reiterated its support for Nigeria’s AI strategy and pledged to support the development of the West African country’s infrastructure to boost research and innovation. A few months later, the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding to increase AI cooperation between their respective national AI institutes.
The U.S. Department of Commerce has also pledged to work with Nigeria to address critical areas such as “data, trusted digital infrastructure, power/green energy, AI governance policies, computing resources, AI-relevant digital skills, and more.”
The controversy over AI in the military
As in virtually every other sector, AI is becoming more widely used in the military. For some, like Japan, the technology is a solution to a rapidly aging and shrinking population that has left the country short of a military workforce. Others are using it to collect and analyze data and assist in decision-making.
According to Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL), global wars are “no longer about who can bring the most people together or field the best jets, ships and tanks.” Today, it’s about autonomous weapons systems and powerful algorithms.
However, the military remains the most controversial field for AI. In the Gaza conflict, for example, Israel is said to be using AI to identify and attack suspected militants, with the human role in this being shockingly small. An Israeli investigation found that thousands of women and children in the country have died as collateral damage from bombings that were almost entirely orchestrated by AI.
This makes regulations and guardrails for the use of the technology in this sector crucial. However, global political orientations have overshadowed the need for policy frameworks.
A major U.S.-led movement brought together 31 nations, including France, Germany, Canada and Australia, to sign a declaration setting guardrails for military AI. However, China and Russia, the other two most powerful militaries after the U.S., were conspicuously absent.
As regulators ease, AI developers are increasingly voicing their concerns and opposition to the military use of AI. Earlier this year, nearly 200 Google DeepMind employees signed a letter demanding that the company terminate its contracts with military organizations.
“Any involvement in the military and weapons manufacturing compromises our position as a leader in ethical and responsible AI and violates our mission statement and stated AI principles,” say the developers.
Industry leader OpenAI has also been drawn into military applications. Earlier this year, the company quietly lifted its ban on using its AI models “for military and warfare” and has been working with the Pentagon ever since.
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