Download 1. Artificial Intelligence

Mission Viejo High School Model United Nations
33rd Annual Conference
“Orbis Unum"
Futuristic Security Council: Artificial Intelligence
My name is Brendan McGillicuddy and I will be your vice-chair in your FSC committee this
year. This is my first time as a chair, and I know I will enjoy my experience this year as well as
my years to come as committee chairs. I have won awards in most conferences I have
participated in, and have a wide range of MUN and International Relations experience. At
school, some of my clubs include the engineering club, music club, a charity club, and class
council. Outside of school, I enjoy going to the movies with my friends, playing water polo,
going to the beach, and playing video games. I look forward to meeting the delegates of this
year’s committee! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected].
I.
Background:
The topic of artificial intelligence is one that may seem alien to many people at first.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most useful tools ever created by mankind, as it serves an
extremely wide range of purposes, including deduction, reasoning, problem solving, planning,
statistical representation, and countless others. The concept of AI has existed centuries before its
creation; however, a major interest in artificial life surged with the science-fiction trend of the
19th and 20th centuries.
The true birth of computerized AI arrived soon after Alan Turing, now renowned mathematician
and father of modern computing, created his “programmable digital electronic computer” during
WWII. In 1956, inspired by the recent developments in computer and neurosurgical technology,
scientists met at Dartmouth College to begin the first research and development of artificial
intelligence. Funded heavily by the US Department of Defense, AI researchers were writing
computer programs that made AI incredibly advanced and lifelike, much to the surprise of the
scientific community. They predicted that, at their rate of advancement, computers would be
functioning at or above the level of a human being by the 1980s.
AI’s greatest accomplishments came along in the 90s due to major strides in computer
technology. These included IBM’s “Deep Blue” computer beating the world champion of chess,
NASA computers learned to identify astronomical objects based on numerical data more
accurately than humans, and almost all AI systems making meaningful conversations with
humans. This ushered in the new era of AI that continues today. However, with the almost
unbelievable amount of things artificial intelligence can accomplish today, many people are
worried about weaponizing such a volatile force into LAWs, Lethal Autonomous Weapons.
Armies around the world are questioning the wartime advantages of a thinking computer,
and the United States, Israel, and Great Britain have already put it to work. Soldiers created by
artificial intelligence could possibly save thousands of lives as they could keep humans out of
warfare, detect threats, and operate much more efficiently than humans. Unfortunately, a
thinking machine, capable of killing, has no emotional input. Realistically, what is stopping a
robotic soldier from killing women, children, and innocent civilians if a simple software error
occurs? The lack of regard for human life is most disturbing: the artificial program cannot feel
nor express emotion, and operates by a set of pre-determined rules.
Will AI be a new force for ending global conflicts, or will it have the unforeseen consequences
that we have been warned about time and time again in science fiction?
Mission Viejo High School Model United Nations
33rd Annual Conference
“Orbis Unum"
II.
United Nations Involvement:
Resistance to AI development has been a recurring topic of United Nations discussion.
Many groups of professionals and scientists have sent open letters and have given lengthy
speeches about the dangers and ethical concerns associated with robots capable of killing
humans. Probably the single most controversial military practice today is the use of aerial attack
drones. Drones, controlled by human pilots, do not make their own decisions and still are
responsible for thousands of civilian deaths. Thus, the United Nations has raised many questions
regarding how an emotionless machine would take on these tasks. In April 2015, the UN in
Geneva held the Informal Meeting of Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons. The consensus
was that the development and use of fully independent artificial intelligence for wartime use
should be paused until it is properly controlled.
III.
Possible Solutions:
Look into ways to perfect AI when it has been given the choice whether to kill or spare human
life, especially its interactions with civilians and avoidance of collateral damage.
Discuss in what ways LAWS can be used effectively without giving it the power to kill (expand
in final draft).
IV.
Country Bloc Policies:
Western: The western world is in almost unanimous agreement that more research and
development must be done in LAWs before they should be put into action.
Latin: In addition to the western nations, the Latin bloc also agreed in the Informal Meeting of
Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons that LAWs should not yet be put into use until studied
furthered.
Middle East: Taking a stronger stand that the other international blocs, the nations of the Middle
East believe that LAWs should not be used in combat at all, and that they would only increase
the inhumanity of war.
Asian: Despite being one of the primary sources of AI development and research, the Asian
bloc’s stand in the meeting was that LAWs should never be put into place until they can
effectively perform perfectly in making life or death solutions.
African: In accordance with the other national blocs, Africa has taken an anti-LAW stance.
Mission Viejo High School Model United Nations
33rd Annual Conference
“Orbis Unum"
V.
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5)
Guiding Questions:
Will AI soldiers be the end of war or fuel it further?
Who will be held responsible if a robotic soldier performs improperly?
Under what circumstances will arming AI be safe?
What ways will AI outperform humans on the battlefield?
Will AI become violent and turn on humans?
VI.
Works Cited:
www.un.org
http://www.unog.ch/80256EE600585943/%28httpPages%29/6CE049BE22EC75A2C1257C8D0
0513E26?OpenDocument
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=45042#.Vj1N9rfnuUk
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/as-united-nations-tackles-the-fight-againstkiller-robots-teaching-them-right-from-wrong-may-be-the-first-step/27563/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_intelligence
http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/572/S02/denning.list.html