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‘Frontier technology’ key element of new UN disarmament agenda

‘Frontier technology’ key element of new UN disarmament agenda

“The international security environment has deteriorated. Cold War tensions have returned, global military spending is at its highest since the fall of the Berlin Wall and conflicts are now largely fought in cities with devastating consequences for civilians. And the non-proliferation regime is threatened by regimes that strongly believe that weapons of mass destruction make them safer.”

The head of the United Nations, António Guterres, who says that it’s time for the UN to play a bigger role in disarmament.

In that recent Twitter message, the UN Secretary-General called for “concrete, practical actions” to promote peaceful conflict resolution.

One area where Mr. Guterres is expected to look for help to do this is science and innovation; just last month in New York, he said that we needed “to maximize the benefits of the technological revolution”.

This field is called “frontier technology” and it has led to suggestions that it could produce new tools to maintain peace and security around the world.

These include blockchain, an ingenious digital ledger that can’t be hacked — that’s the theory anyway.

It’s available to anyone who can get on to the internet and it could be used to safeguard against nuclear weapons stockpiling.

There’s also machine learning technology, which the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty Organization is pioneering for disarmament verification.

So much for the advantages of emerging technologies.

But how about the dangers — aren’t conflicts in the hands of weaponized drones these days?

And aren’t things like facial recognition being used for military purposes instead?

Ambassador Amandeep Gill knows a thing or two about this.

He’s leading discussions among UN Member States in Geneva on how to control these so-called Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), work that’s covered by the Convention on Certain Convention Weapons (CCW).

“So, that is the Hollywood scenario of ‘Terminators’ and iron men. I think we are most concerned at this point in the abdication of human responsibility…in the lethal use of force… So, at what point in our work with machines do we as humans hand over excessive control to them? So, this is a very nuanced discussion and it is being carried out, I would say, with maximum transparency and with a forum of 125 Member States… Given the circumstances, I would say that we are doing quite well, keeping those risks and those concerns in mind.”

As well as all those ambassadors taking part in UN meetings, Ambassador Gill also points out that lots of other people are involved in the debate, too: academics, industrial manufacturers, non-governmental organizations and even military experts.

Technology isn’t the problem, he says, it’s the people behind the inventions:

“There is nothing new about technology and its impact on international security. What is bewildering today perhaps is the pace, the diversity of applications and the fact that most of the research and development is now being piloted through the private sector. So, the Governments are not playing as much a role in the development of these new technologies. So, these are new challenges for the traditional arms control and disarmament forums and our traditional ways of dealing with the interface of technology and security. So, it’s very welcome that the Secretary-General is focusing attention on some of these mindset issues. The risk doesn’t come from technology itself, it comes from the way humans organize themselves around technology.”

Now, imagine you’re in the pub and it’s quiz night. The question is about disarmament — ouch! Here goes: name international bodies that deal with this?

Well, you might have heard of the Conference on Disarmament — that meets at the UN in Geneva.

And how about the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna?

But did you know that there are lots of other UN bodies mandated to pursue peace and security through weapons control: there’s UNODA — the Office for Disarmament Affairs — the Secretary-General’s Disarmament Commission, the General Assembly and the Security Council.

There’s even the UN Disarmament Commission and it’s looking into weapons issues in space!

The reason I’m telling you this is to highlight the fact that all of them are working in the same direction.

Ambassador Gill again:

“So, you can see the spread of forums that are addressing this area of frontier issues, as the Secretary-General said, and we are trying to build bridges and connections between all these forums, also using academia and research institutions. I’m currently at Sipri in Stockholm and they’ve organized a discussion around the implications of artificial intelligence for questions relating to the use of nuclear weapons; do they accentuate the risk of nuclear weapons used; or could there be some positive sides, and if there are risks how do we manage those risks, et cetera.”

Critics of the international disarmament discussion say that it’s proved next to impossible to convince States that possess weapons of mass destruction to loosen their hold on them.

And while it’s impossible to say whether science will help to do so in future, there’s no doubt that innovation is already helping to promote peace and security.

Dr. Einar Bjorgo is head of the UN satellite imaging and analysis office, UNOSAT.

Based in Geneva, his team pinpoints where new clusters of refugees need help; UNOSAT also identifies disaster relief measures in Asia and East Africa, among other things.

“From our angle we have been using technology for over 15 years now to support sister agencies…but also increasingly using this technology in conflict situations, in human rights et cetera… So, it’s clear this technology has a lot to bring. Why? Because it is objective information, it’s a photo, and objectivity in this type of situation in this type of discussion is essential. It also has global outreach…to look where we cannot be the same day if something has happened.”

As the capacity for obtaining high-quality images improves all the time, so does the ability to monitor things round the clock, too.

This makes it an “excellent tool” for disarmament in general and also for wider security questions, Dr. Bjorgo says, adding that UNOSAT has no mandate for this and that it plays an advisory role to the specific agencies in charge of the question.

“I think one challenge is to actually be able to move from the theoretical, academic, this is interesting technology to actually making a significant difference on the ground and that is also how I interpret the Secretary-General when he wants to see increased use of technology and innovation… That said, there is definitely an appetite to use this kind of technology now for decision-making. There is an appetite to use the data and statistics that they generate as a reliable source and again, an objective source. So, I do see the need for this, I think it’s very timely. We have to do this, we have to have a good strategy in order to tackle these issues and the Secretary-General leading the way in that sense is really the way to go.”

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It’s time for the United Nations to play a bigger role in disarmament, according to UN chief António Guterres, calling for concrete, practical actions to promote peaceful conflict resolution. Among those actions is to maximize the benefits of the technological revolution.

Known as “frontier technology”, the field of scientific and technological innovation could produce new tools to maintain peace and security around the world.

Daniel Johnson discusses the various ways that the UN is looking to incorporate such technology in its disarmament agenda.

Audio Credit
Daniel Johnson, UN News - Geneva
Audio Duration
7'37"
Photo Credit
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré