Trump, Xi and Putin could discuss AI curbs in nuclear command

Donald Trump, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin may choose to include AI in future nuclear weapons arrangements between their countries, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. Next week, the three leaders will meet at the APEC Summit in Shenzhen, China.

The US, China and Russia have spent weeks working on an agenda and protocol for a possible meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit on 18–19 November, according to SCMP citing sources familiar with the preparations.

According to the sources, discussions about denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the war in Ukraine are no longer being considered as possible topics. Instead, attention is being directed towards areas where a consensus could be reached, such as the use of AI in nuclear command and control.

Discussing AI governance in nuclear weapons would be a safe but ‘stale’ choice and an ‘easy deliverable’.

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Another option is a pledge to keep decisions on whether to use nuclear weapons in human hands. Heather Williams, a nuclear policy specialist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told SCMP that the three countries could in principle agree on that.

Where Moscow stands out

Washington and Beijing have already backed human control over nuclear-use decisions. Joe Biden and Xi set out that position in separate statements after meeting in Peru in 2024.

Moscow has yet to endorse it publicly and has been more cautious about formal limits on AI in nuclear command, SCMP reported.

A separate proposal would ban cyber or AI-enabled attacks on the systems that carry nuclear orders. The paper said that idea was less likely to win agreement.

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Trump said on Sunday he expected to meet both leaders in China. The meeting is still being worked out, and finding time in all three leaders’ schedules could hold it up, one source told SCMP.