The Federal Foreign Office conference series “Capturing Technology – Rethinking Arms Control” took place this year under the title “Artificial Intelligence and Weapons of Mass Destruction“. At the one-day conference in Berlin, around 190 international experts from diplomacy, science, think tanks and industry spoke about the effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the development and regulation of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.
Anja Dahlmann, head of the Berlin office of IFSH and research associate in the project Arms Control and Emerging Technologies, moderated the discussion on nuclear weapons and summarized the debate during the final panel. She emphasized that, on the one hand, AI can provide helpful support for military decisions or in the verification of disarmament. On the other hand, AI can contribute to conflict escalation as the technology promotes the acceleration of warfare and can reduce the influence of humans in case of errors. Regulatory approaches are already evident in political declarations on the responsible use of AI but need further work.
Zahra Bagheri, Yasmin Cürük and Dr. Tobias Fella from the research area Arms Control and Emerging Technologies also took part in the conference.