SIPRI co-organized two side events during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly First Committee in New York at the end of October.
The first event, held on 27 October, focused on the legal and humanitarian implications of bias in military artificial intelligence (AI). Co-organized with the Permanent Mission of Germany to the UN, the event featured Marta Bo, Dustin Lewis, SIPRI Associate Senior Researchers, and Laura Bruun, SIPRI Researcher, who presented key findings from a recent SIPRI report on the topic. The event provided an opportunity for states, international organizations and civil society to discuss how a deeper understanding of bias in AI can inform and strengthen regulatory approaches.
Thomas Göbel, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Germany to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, provided opening remarks. The panel consisted of Noa Schreuer, Legal Advisor at the International Committee of the Red Cross; Steven Murphy, Deputy Director, Disarmament & Non-Proliferation Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland; and Ray Acheson, Director of Reaching Critical Will.
The second event, held jointly with the Netherlands and Switzerland on 28 October, marked the launch of a new SIPRI report ‘Towards Multilateral Policy on Autonomous Weapon Systems’. The report’s author, Dr Alexander Blanchard, shared insights from the publication, followed by a discussion in which participants explored ways of progressing international policy efforts on autonomous weapon systems.
The event opened with remarks from H.E. Robert in den Bosch, Disarmament Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament of the Netherlands and Laurent Masmejean, Counsellor on Military Affairs and Disarmament, Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN.