12 December 2021

We can’t let robots control nuclear arsenals

William Hague

When brilliant individuals nearing their 100th birthdays write a book, it is a good idea to read it. Two years ago, the scientist James Lovelock celebrated his centenary with Novacene: The Coming Age of Hyperintelligence, in which he hailed a future dominated by artificial intelligence, while cautioning against its military uses. Now Henry Kissinger, at a stripling 98, has co-authored The Age of AI, bringing a brain steeped in great power strategy to the same topic.

Kissinger’s central insight is that the introduction of AI into weapons will fundamentally change our ideas of national security, undermining deterrence and disrupting balances of power. This is partly because we will be less certain what another country might be able to do to us.

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