‘Very strong parallels’ between J Robert Oppenheimer’s views and those who want AI reined in, film’s director says
The Oppenheimer director, Christopher Nolan, has highlighted the difficulties of applying nuclear weapons-style regulation to artificial intelligence, as he warned that the United Nations had become a “very diminished” force.
Nolan told the Guardian J Robert Oppenheimer’s call for international control of nuclear weapons had “sort of come true”, but there had nonetheless been extensive proliferation of the technology since the “father of the atomic bomb” led the Manhattan project in the second world war.
“To look at the international control of nuclear weapons and feel that the same principles could be applied to something that doesn’t require massive industrial processes – it’s a bit tricky,” he said.
“International surveillance of nuclear weapons is possible because nuclear weapons are very difficult to build. Oppenheimer spent $2bn and used thousands of people across America to build those first bombs. It’s reassuringly difficult to make nuclear weapons and so it’s relatively easy to spot when a country is doing that. I don’t believe any of that applies to AI.”
This week the UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said the UN was the “ideal place” for establishing a global standard and approach to AI, as calls grow for an international effort to moderate the technology’s development. Under the UN-brokered treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, nuclear-armed countries are committed to not helping non-nuclear weapon states acquire or build such military technology.
Nolan said Oppenheimer had wanted countries to give up “some portion” of their sovereignty to put control of nuclear energy into the hands of the international community via the UN.
