The Militarization of Artificial Intelligence: A Wake-Up Call for the Global South

Abstract

The militarization of artificial intelligence (AI) is well under way and leading military powers have been investing large resources in emerging technologies. Calls for AI governance at international level are expected to increase and the United Nations is well positioned to offer a commonly agreed platform for prevention, foresight, and cooperation among states and other stakeholders to address the impact of new technologies. A telling example for the area of strategic studies is the work of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on lethal autonomous weapons systems, under the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), the most important multilateral discussion on AI, peace and security today. The article makes the case for further engagement from scholars, policymakers, and practitioners of the Global South in the ongoing debate on AI policy and international relations to mitigate risks and adopt governance tools, including norms, principles, regimes, institutions, and political commitments.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, governance of new technologies, international security, lethal autonomous weapons systems, Global South