What role can artificial intelligence (AI) play in building peace?

 

Technical Paper - International Panel on the Information Environment



Can AI technology help understandand monitor conflict emergence, assist diverse stakeholders’ responses to violence, and help inreconciliation and post-conflict reconstruction? 

While these questions have been part of peacebuilding discussions for years, today’s AI capabilities offer unprecedented possibilities. Though some applications—particularly in conflict mapping and analysis—are gradually entering mainstream practice, most peacebuilding AI initiatives remain in pilot phases. Current experimentation spans conflict prediction systems, AI-facilitated public dialogues, enhanced crisis response tools, and solutions that improve organizational efficiency—presenting both opportunities and challenges for peacebuilding. While AI demonstrates valuable capabilities for peacebuilding, it remains fundamentally a dual-use technology. The same systems that can better predict conflict hotspots, help facilitate dialogue between opposing groups, and process humanitarian data can efficiently spread misinformation, amplify division, and deepen societal polarization. The technology’s substantial energy requirements and surveillance applications present additional concerns. AI tools in conflict zones provide a means for tracking violence, delivering intelligence to security actors including peacekeepers, and potentially protecting civilians through more effective peacekeeping operations. However, these capabilities can create more harm: fully autonomous weapons operating without human oversight; surveillance technologies enabling government oppression; and “smart” targeting systems potentially increasing civilian casualties. This Technical Paper outlines how AI can aid peacebuilding amid current global challenges including violent conflict, inequality, climate change, resource scarcity, and forced migration. It reviews the current state of AI and peacebuilding research and practice, and related fields including humanitarian action and international development, and offers recommendations to better harness AI’s potential for peace. Core recommendations for ensuring inclusive and ethical AI development include: (1) prioritizing fundamental human rights; (2) increasing funding for applied practices that document effective and ineffective strategies; (3) supporting ecosystem organizations to foster cross-sectoral collaboration; (4) encouraging the development of smaller language models; and (5) developing strong policy and ethical guidance firmly anchored in human rights to promote ethical AI use and mitigate potential risks or harms. Read the full report entitled "AI and Peacebuilding Opportunities & Challenges"

Location: Zürich, Switzerland

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