China and Russia have agreed to consult and coordinate with each other on the military use of artificial intelligence, a technology that is becoming a new front in Beijing’s rivalry with Washington. During talks in Beijing on Thursday, departmental officials from the two countries had “a detailed exchange of assessments” of the use of AI technology for military purposes, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday. There were also discussions over “the doctrinal guidelines and initiatives of Russia and China” on the issue, the Russian statement said, without saying which officials were involved. In particular, the two sides agreed to step up coordination under the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) of the States Parties to the Convention on Inhumane Weapons on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), an UN-backed forum on the 1981 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. “The meeting confirmed the closeness of the Russian and Chinese approaches to this issue,” the Russian statement said. “It was noted that there is a need for further close cooperation in this area both in the bilateral format and in the relevant multilateral platforms, primarily within the framework of the GGE on LAWS.” The Chinese statement about the meeting did not refer to military use of AI, but said consultations were held over “outer space security, biosecurity and artificial intelligence” – some of the emerging technologies that could define geopolitical rivalries in the future. Thursday’s meeting is part of broader strategic coordination between Beijing and Moscow on traditional and emerging areas – from military and foreign policy to space security and critical materials.

Full report : Russia and China compare notes on ‘military use of artificial intelligence.’