SUMMARY

On September 20-21, the Center for Global Security Research (CGSR) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in collaboration with Technology for Global Security (Tech4GS), hosted a workshop to examine the implications of advances in artificial intelligence (AI) on international security and strategic stability. Participating policymakers, scholars, technical experts, and representatives of various private sector organizations addressed the central question of whether the United States government should consider adjusting its approach to nuclear deterrence and strategic stability in light of the wide range of developments in the AI field. The workshop examined the potential risks and opportunities presented by military applications of AI and assessed which of these require consideration in the near term—and which might be exaggerated. For the purposes of the workshop, we took a broad view of potential future applications of AI, including enablers of autonomous action; tools for decision support, simulation and modeling; and tools for collecting and analyzing very large volumes of information. We sought to understand the differences between near term impacts and potential longer-term possibilities, which are of course more difficult to forecast.