The Philippines has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to take the lead in regulating military uses of artificial intelligence, citing the immense capability of AI to be exploited for dangerous ends.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro said during a high level debate in New York City last week that the UNSC has the distinct capability to adopt measures that could prevent the exploitation of AI. “We must institute guiding principles on AI’s military use, invoking applicable international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” she said.
If AI is to be integrated in implementing peacekeeping mandates, she stated that there should be strong oversight to ensure that the tool only “serves to protect and not to harm.”
“The Philippines looks to the UN Security Council to assert its leadership in harnessing AI as a force for good and a powerful driver of peace and security,” she added.
Lazaro said the promise of AI is tempered by its potential for misuse as seen from how generative AI and large language models have been used to spread false news and harmful propaganda.
She also called for transparency and confidence-building among nations with respect to AI use.
The potential for AI to do great things and at the same time inflict great harm in a highly efficient manner cannot be ignored, and that is why it needs to be regulated, especially while humans are still in control. The call of the Philippines for the UNSC to take the lead in regulating military uses of AI is entirely justified, especially for a country that as of now, has very little say in the direction that the development of the technology is going.
We will ultimately end up as either end users or targets, but if we can still find ways to ensure that the use of Artificial Intelligence will be more for good than for bad, we should take that chance while we still can.*
