Washington, Sep 17 (IANS) Two US lawmakers have urged President Donald Trump to secure a commitment from Chinese leader Xi Jinping that humans must remain in control of nuclear launch decisions, warning against allowing artificial intelligence to launch a nuclear weapon on its own.
Representative Ted Lieu, a California Democrat, and Senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, asked Trump to raise the issue during his meeting with Xi next week, according to a September 16 release from Lieu’s office.
Their letter, dated September 15, calls on China to follow the principle that the lawmakers said already governs US policy: AI must not weaken nuclear safeguards or remove human involvement from decisions to use nuclear weapons.
“AI should never launch a nuclear weapon by itself,” they wrote.
The appeal focuses on the role of artificial intelligence in nuclear weapons launch systems. It asks Trump to obtain a commitment directly from Xi to preserve human control over such decisions.
“As you prepare to meet with General Secretary Xi Jinping next week, we respectfully ask you to raise the issue of artificial intelligence (AI) and its use in nuclear weapons launch systems,” the lawmakers wrote.
Lieu and Markey cited Section 1638 of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defence Authorisation Act as the basis for the US position. According to their letter, the provision declared that AI should not compromise the integrity of nuclear safeguards.
Lieu’s office said the two lawmakers authored the provision to ensure that humans remain the decision-makers in the employment of nuclear weapons.
“The United States already requires that the use of AI should not compromise the integrity of nuclear safeguards or compromise the principle of maintaining a ‘human-in-the-loop’ in the employment of nuclear weapons,” they wrote.
Their request seeks a Chinese commitment to that same principle. The letter does not accuse Beijing of having authorised artificial intelligence to launch nuclear weapons independently. It also provides no details about China’s existing nuclear launch systems or how AI might be used within them.
“We urge you to get General Secretary Xi to commit the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the same principle that the United States already follows,” the lawmakers wrote.
They argued that the US policy provided a basis for Trump to seek a corresponding assurance from Beijing during the planned meeting.
“Since the United States follows this basic principle, so should the PRC,” they said.
The lawmakers framed direct presidential engagement as a way to address the danger of AI causing a nuclear disaster. Their warning covered both accidental and intentional outcomes.
“Your direct engagement on this matter is critical to ensuring AI doesn’t accidentally or intentionally cause a preventable nuclear disaster,” they wrote.
–IANS
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