Use AI in agri, climate change, not in weapon system: FM Hasan urges international community

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud today (29 April) called upon the international community not to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) in weapon systems to wipe out humanity but rather use it benevolently in agriculture, medical science, space exploration, climate change and job creation.
 
He made the call while speaking at an international conference titled 'Humanity at the Crossroads: Autonomous Weapons Systems and the Challenge of Regulation' in Vienna, a foreign ministry press release said.

Bangladesh's foreign minister posed a question asking what would happen to international peace and security if the non-state actors and terrorist organisations get access to AI-driven autonomous weapon systems.

The foreign minister also called upon all to get away with any new arms including autonomous weapons for the sake of humanity.

He participated in a high-level panel discussion on the challenges of regulating the autonomous weapon systems, where the Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco, Norwegian State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson and President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Mirjana Spoljaric Egger also joined as co-panellists.

Hasan highlighted the importance of preserving human control over the use of force.

The foreign minister underscored that machines with the power and discretion to take human lives must be prohibited by legally binding international laws both for AI and autonomous weapons.

He suggested setting global norms to effectively regulate autonomous weapons systems.
 
Highlighting the precarious situation in Gaza, Hasan also cautioned the international community against opening a new front of conflicts and tensions.
 
The Ministry of European and International Affairs of Austria has organised the conference and it is being participated by more than 800 delegates from over 120 states, UN bodies, rights groups and INGOs.