Artificial intelligence could spark an accidental nuclear war, conflict experts fear. 

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the world’s leading organisation on nuclear assessments, said technologies like AI are aggravating the risk carried with growing global nuclear stockpiles. 

SIPRI pointed to China‘s rapidly growing stockpile, from 500 to 600 in a single year, as well as the imminent expiry of the final arms control treaty between the US and Russia, two nuclear-armed nations. 

The institute’s director, Dan Smith, warned: ‘One component of the coming arms race will be the attempt to gain and maintain a competitive edge in artificial intelligence (AI), both for offensive and defensive purposes.

‘There are benefits to be found but the careless adoption of AI could significantly increase nuclear risk.’ 

He said that while AI could make it easier to assess states’ compliance with nuclear agreement, it is also likely to give countries, as well as rogue groups, the ability to make quicker and less though-out decisions.

‘As the new technologies speed up decision-making in a crisis, there is also the risk of a war as a result of miscommunication, misunderstanding or even a technical accident,’ he says. 

Smith said: ‘The signs are that a new nuclear arms race is gearing up. Compared to the last one, the risks are likely to be more diverse and more serious.’

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