A Massachusetts Democrat is calling on the United States to pass legislation that would move artificial intelligence away from nuclear power.
On Thursday, Senator Edward Markey said: “78 years ago this weekend, Robert Oppenheimer witnessed the world’s first explosion of nuclear weapons. In 2023, we face a new type of nuclear threat: the weaponization of increasingly powerful artificial intelligence systems.
“We need to pass legislation to get AI off the nuclear button before it’s too late,” he said.
Markey’s office said he filed more than a dozen amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act, including language that would ban the use of AI in nuclear launch decisions. of the US Army.
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Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey speaks during a press conference on the Birth Control Rights Act in Washington, DC on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Additionally, the office said the amendments would advance nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation and save billions of federal dollars by shifting wasteful spending from nuclear weapons development to vaccine research.
One amendment is based on the Block Nuclear Launch by Autonomous Artificial Intelligence Act, which would ban AI from making nuclear launch decisions.
Markey and bipartisan Representatives Ted Lieu, Don Beyer and Ken Buck introduced the bill in April.
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., participates in the House Democrats’ press conference following their caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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“We need to keep humans informed about life-and-death decisions to use lethal force, especially for our most dangerous weapons,” Markey said then.
“While US military use of AI may be appropriate to enhance national security, the use of AI to deploy nuclear weapons without a human chain of command and control is reckless, dangerous, and should be prohibited” , said Buck, R-Colo.
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., speaks with reporters before a procedural vote on the debt limit bill at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, May 31, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
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Their bill would codify existing Pentagon policy that requires a human being to be “informed” of any decision regarding the use of nuclear weapons.
In its fiscal year 2024 budget, the Pentagon is asking for $1.8 billion just for research and development of AI capabilities.
Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.