By John Q. Hosedrinker 
During his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautioned global leaders about the perilous implications of artificial intelligence, asserting that the world is currently experiencing the most destructive arms race in history. He emphasized the threat posed by the rapid advancement of weapons technology, including AI-powered autonomous systems, and the inadequacy of current global safeguards. Zelenskyy advocated for the establishment of international regulations governing the use of AI, highlighting the potential for AI-driven drones to autonomously target infrastructure and individuals. He further underscored the ease with which dangerous weapons can be accessed and deployed, particularly in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Read the original article here
Zelenskyy’s warning about the escalating arms race is a sobering reality we need to confront. It’s not hyperbole; we seem to be smack dab in the middle of the most destructive arms race in history. The sheer velocity of technological advancement is the issue. We’re not just talking about bigger bombs or faster planes anymore. We’re dealing with fundamental shifts in the way warfare is waged, and the potential consequences are terrifying. We see cheap sensor technology and commercial satellites making it easy for belligerents to find targets, even with cheap munitions.
This accelerating technological race involves developments in a whole host of fields, many of which have profound implications for both defense and global security. Think of things like directed energy weapons, quantum computing, synthetic biology, 3D printing, and hypersonics. All of these advancements are creating weapons systems far more powerful and destructive than anything we’ve seen before. The rise of technologies such as CRISPR and synthetic biology opens the door to potentially devastating biological weapons, while advancements in cyber warfare make us more vulnerable to unprecedented attacks. Satellites, critical infrastructure for communication and navigation, are increasingly vulnerable as well.
The scary part is, it is no longer just governments and large defense contractors that are driving this. Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, allows for the manufacture of military items they could never produce before, and these technologies are available to anyone with a bit of money. Anyone! The financial and technological barriers to entry for creating devastating weapons systems are plummeting, democratizing destruction in a way we’ve never seen. It is all too easy to see how groups, even individuals, could wield technologies that could easily destabilize regions or commit acts of terror on a massive scale. “Stopping Russia now is cheaper than wondering who will be the tourists to create a simple drone carrying a nuclear warhead.” I believe it is important for everyone to understand that.
Zelenskyy’s warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence is just as crucial. AI is not just a futuristic concept; it’s here, and it’s rapidly evolving. Imagine drone fleets carrying out mass shootings. How would we even begin to prevent or stop them? It’s a chilling prospect. We need to consider the ethical implications of handing over decisions about life and death to machines, especially when those machines can be deployed and controlled by anyone.
Furthermore, it’s not just about AI controlling weapons. AI could also be used for surveillance on internal dissidents, creating and maintaining lists of enemies. The threat to democracy is serious. We need to discuss these possibilities openly, and we need to consider the ramifications of AI on warfare before they become reality.
The speed of these developments presents a truly unique challenge. We may not be able to stop the arms race, but perhaps we can delay it, mitigate its worst effects, and try to ensure these weapons are never used. We need global cooperation, international laws, and ethical guidelines that keep pace with technology. It’s a race against time to find a way to control, or at least regulate, these technologies before they spiral completely out of control.
One can’t help but be concerned about the current political climate, either. The focus should be on peace and safeguarding humanity’s future. The world’s leaders seem too interested in the arms race to care about either. “Trump doesn’t care, he’s gonna need that technology to unleash against Americans and pave the way to fascism.” is also quite concerning.
It’s clear that if Ukraine joins the EU and becomes a part of the new rearming project, it will benefit the world. But for that to happen, the war must end, which means that countries must declare war as a criminal act and declare war in the name of religion as a criminal act.
It is also important that we educate people on how to interpret information. So many people are easily swayed by social media.
I can’t help but think, do the leaders of the world even understand the magnitude of the situation? It feels like some of them are loving this, especially the economic engine it creates. This is where the real danger lies. We have to think about how these technologies could be used by bad actors. We must criminalize things like murder, theft, and even the development of weapons that cause cancer.