May 02, 2023 12:30 PM UTC

Buck Co-Sponsors Anti-Skynet Bill And We're Okay With That

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• by: Colorado Pols

A press release last week from Rep. Ken Buck’s office we didn’t want to escape without a mention–a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers that includes the famously Big Tech-averse Rep. Buck has introduced legislation to ensure the plot of the Terminator movie franchise never becomes reality.

Try as we might to scoff, after some consideration, it’s hard to see a problem with this:

Representatives Ken Buck (CO-04), Ted W. Lieu (CA-36), Don Beyer (VA-08) and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today introduced the bipartisan and bicameral Block Nuclear Launch by Autonomous Artificial Intelligence Act, legislation to safeguard the nuclear command and control process from any future change in policy that allows artificial intelligence (AI) to make nuclear launch decisions.

The Department of Defense’s 2022 Nuclear Posture Review states that current policy is to “maintain a human ‘in the loop’ for all actions critical to informing and executing decisions by the President to initiate and terminate nuclear weapon employment” in all cases. The Block Nuclear Launch by Autonomous AI Act would codify the Department’s existing policy by ensuring that no federal funds can be used for any launch of any nuclear weapon by an automated system without meaningful human control. Furthermore, the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, established by Congress through the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act, recommended in their final report that the U.S. clearly and publicly affirm its policy that only human beings can authorize employment of nuclear weapons. This bill follows through on their recommendation.

“While U.S. military use of AI can be appropriate for enhancing national security purposes, use of AI for deploying nuclear weapons without a human chain of command and control is reckless, dangerous, and should be prohibited,” said Representative Buck. “I am proud to co-sponsor this legislation to ensure that human beings, not machines, have the final say over the most critical and sensitive military decisions.”

Opinions differ on Rep. Buck’s suspicions about Big Tech controlling the world via your social media feeds, but if there’s anything James Cameron taught us since childhood it’s to never, ever let the machines take control of the nuclear weapons. It’s a rule right up there with don’t steam at full speed into an iceberg field and be nice to aliens with unobtainable resources you need–also important childhood lessons we learned from James Cameron. In fact, Buck sponsoring a bill to stop AI from getting control of the nukes could serve as the plot for a whole new Terminator sequel.

It’s not the most important issue Congress faces today, unless, you know, it is.

Only the future, or somebody visiting from the future (see: Terminator franchise) can say for sure.