China warns about AI: It could produce weapons of mass destruction

In China ’s newly published risk assessment on artificial intelligence technologies, a warning was made that artificial intelligence could be used by extremist groups and terrorist organizations to produce weapons of mass destruction. China’s National Cybersecurity Standardization Technical Committee and the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team published the updated version of the “ Artificial Intelligence Security Management Framework Document.” The document, which emphasized that the developing information processing capabilities provided by artificial intelligence technology could provide even ordinary people with the chance to learn how to make destructive weapons, pointed out the risks of losing control over the knowledge and capabilities related to the production of weapons of mass destruction and critical weapon systems. It emphasized that artificial intelligence systems utilize extensive compilations and data, including basic theoretical information on nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, as well as missile systems, in order to train. The document warned, “Without adequate supervision, extremist groups and terrorists can acquire knowledge on the design, manufacture, synthesis, and use of such weapons through artificial intelligence and develop these capabilities.”

“IT MAY INCREASE RISKS TO PEACE” The document reminds that artificial intelligence systems scan large-scale current data on the internet before responding to a problem with a technique called “access-assisted information generation,” emphasizing that this could intensify risks to peace and security by disabling existing control systems. Underlining that maintaining human control should be a fundamental principle for an artificial intelligence application to be reliable, the document draws attention to the dangers of artificial intelligence communicating like a human and gaining self-awareness, and concludes, “We must ensure that artificial intelligence always remains under human control in order to prevent uncontrolled risks that could threaten the existence and development of humanity.”