AI Weapons and Global Security: Rethinking Non-Proliferation in the Age of Autonomous Systems

Artificial Intelligence and the Limits of the Existing Non-Proliferation Framework The study examines the implications of artificial intelligence for international security and the global non-proliferation regime, with particular attention to the limitations of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 in addressing emerging AI-enabled weapons. Adopted unanimously in 2004, Resolution 1540 established a binding international framework designed to prevent non-state actors from acquiring nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and their means of delivery. It obliges states to adopt domestic legislation, enforce export controls, secure sensitive materials, and cooperate internationally in order to limit the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. However, the resolution was drafted at a time when artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and digital warfare technologies were not yet central to global security concerns. As a consequence, its language reflects the technological assumptions of the early 2000s and does not account for the strategic challenges posed by contemporary AI-enabled military systems.