German arms industry giants call for rules to be put in place for the use of AI in the military sector.

The CEO of Rheinmetall, Germany's largest defense company, Armin Papege, recently stated that global rules should be established for the application of artificial intelligence in the military field to clearly define the limits of AI use, especially to ensure that it is humans, not AI, who decide when weapons should be fired. According to Kyodo News on the 19th, Papege made this statement at the 2026 European International Defense Exhibition in Villepinte, near Paris, France. He said that in the next 10 years, the technological potential of the defense industry may increase exponentially, and similar global norms must be established, similar to the rules governing nuclear weapons, to clearly delineate boundaries. Papege pointed out that such decisions must be made by an ethics committee or a United Nations resolution. He emphasized that humans always have the final decision-making power in autonomous weapon systems, meaning that it is humans who decide whether to use force. Papege said that technically, it is feasible to delegate such decision-making to AI, but Rheinmetall believes that humans should always be involved in the decision-making process. He also stated that it is crucial to establish global rules to prevent the final decision-making power from being handed over to AI in conflicts.