Pakistan is calling for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to be regulated by the UN Charter, particularly military use, warning that “AI should not become a tool of enforcement.”
As artificial intelligence proceeds without meaningful checks, Pakistan's call at the UN reflects the broader concern expressed by developing countries that powerful states shape rules for their interests.
Earlier this year, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution fostering comprehensive and equitable AI governance that closes digital gaps while warning that global southern countries from Indonesia to Brazil will deepen inequality.
Speaking at a high-level discussion on AI based on the agenda item “Maintaining International Peace and Security,” which was bystander of the 80th UNGA session in New York, laying the possibility of misuse of AI and calling the UN Charter and international law “full control over the development and use of AI applications.”
“AI must not become a tool for coercion or technical monopoly. Pakistan's Associated Press (APP) He quoted him as saying.
App The meeting reported that South Korean President Lee Jae-myeon was chaired in September to serve as the 15-member council president.
In warning against AI's military applications, the minister emphasized that AI may be the “most important double-use technology,” but it could “deepen inequality and destabilize international order.”
“Applications should be banned without meaningful human control,” he added while addressing the 15-member council.
Focusing on the dangers of unregulated AI, ASIF noted that “unregulated irresponsible use of AI allows for disinformation campaigns, aggressive cyber operations, and the development of new types of armament.”
“Accelerating AI weaponization through autonomous weapon systems and AI-driven command and control systems pose serious risks.”
He urged the state to “commit to measures to prevent the use of destabilization and prevent preemptive incentives.”
Referring to the four-day military standoff between India and Pakistan in May, the ASIF points out that during the conflict, “autonomous ammunition and high-speed dual-response cruise missiles were used against another nation during military exchanges,” warning that the case demonstrates “diners where AI can pose.”
Warning against the changing future of war, he said, “AI will lower the threshold for the use of force, making war politically and operationally viable.”
AI “compresses decision-making time and narrows down windows for diplomacy and emissions,” the minister warned, adding that AI “blew the boundaries of the domain and fused cyber, movement and information effects in unpredictable ways.”
He called for AI to be used to promote “peace and development” rather than “conflict and instability.”
“Let's preserve the superiority of human judgment in the matter of war and peace. Even in the age of intellectual machinery, we ensure that innovation is guided by morality and human principles,” Asif said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who launched discussion, highlighted many uses of AI in line with the emergence of food insecurity, demining and violence, but warned that “without guardrails it could become weaponized.”
AI “is no longer a far horizon. It's here and it transforms everyday life, information space and the world economy at a breathtaking speed,” he said. But “Innovation needs to be useful to humanity, not to undermine it.”
Recalling the establishment of the UN Independent International Scientific Panel on AI and the global dialogue on AI governance, Guterres said, “human fate cannot be left to algorithms.”
In that memo, he called on the Council and Member States to “ensure that human rule and judgment are preserved in all uses of force.” App He quoted him as saying.
Guterres also called for the “prohibition of lethal autonomous weapons systems operating without human control, with legally binding measures by 2026.” App It has been reported.
“Similarly, decisions in the use of nuclear weapons need to rest with humans, not machines.” App He quoted the UN Secretary-General as saying.
“From nuclear weapons management to aviation safety, the international community has risen to the technological challenges that can destabilize our society. I agree to assert rules, institutional construction and human dignity,” he said.
“Windows are closed to shape AI – for peace, for justice, for humanity. We must act without delay.”
Speaking to the council, Yejin Choi, a senior fellow at the Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute at Stanford University, noted that “current advances in AI are too concentrated among a small number of companies and countries.”
“When only a few have the resources to build from AI and make profits, we are waiting at the door for the rest of the world,” she said.
“Let's expand what intelligence is, and everyone everywhere plays a role in building it.”
“Choe has urged governments and international organizations to invest in alternative approaches beyond expanding more enthusiastic models, claiming that fewer adaptation systems can reduce barriers to entry.” App It has been reported.
“She also sought a stronger representation of linguistic and cultural diversity. Today's major AI models reflect poor performance in many English languages and narrow cultural assumptions.”
The development comes the day after Google announced the launch of the Google AI Plus Plan in 40 more countries, including Pakistan.
“Pakistan's digital landscape is vibrant and growing, inspired by the creativity that Pakistanis have shown to adopt AI tools,” Farhan Qureshi, country director at Google Pakistan, said in a statement.
In July, the federal cabinet approved the National AI Policy 2025.
The policy outlined the training of 1 million AI professionals by 2030, establishing AI innovation funds and AI venture funds to increase private sector engagement, creating 50,000 AI-led citizen projects and 1,000 local AI products over the next five years.
“Our youth is Pakistan's biggest asset. Providing education, skills and equal opportunities in AI is our number one priority,” said Prime Minister Shebaz, who chaired the July meeting.
