MARCH 2022

Spotlight on Tech and war in Ukraine, AI and drones in war, autonomous nuclear weapons, hate speech in conflict, Meta in war and more

For more resources on War in Ukraine look at our

Special Edition Newsletter

BY AI FOR PEACE

AI for Peace at the MozFest 2022 – “Do no harm’ in the Algo Age, March 9, 2022

AI for Peace joined this year’s MozFest, organizing a discussion with a focus on the crisis in Ukraine. ‘Do no harm’ and preventing the outbreak, escalation, and continuation of conflict and harm while using new tools is a huge task, and a more integrated, strategic, and coherent approach across different sectors and actors is needed to sustain peace and protect vulnerable populations. This session offered a place for practitioners from both AI and peacebuilding fields to discuss how existing ‘do no harm’ and ‘conflict sensitivity’ mechanisms can be “upgraded” to algo age, to help ethical programing of organizations planning to utilize AI and related technologies in their programs in conflict and violence affected countries.

The recording is available at the MozFest platform (registration required and available for free). While you are there, don’t miss other sessions that took place at the festival, including critical work towards Trustworthy AI.

WAR IN UKRAINE

A.I. is on the front lines of the war in Ukraine, Fortune, 1 March 2022

Already, Ukraine has been using the Turkish-made TB2 drone, which can take off, land, and cruise autonomously, although it still relies on a human operator to decide when to drop the laser-guided bombs it carries. (The drone can also use lasers to guide artillery strikes.) Russia meanwhile has a “kamikaze” drone with some autonomous capabilities called the Lantset, which it reportedly used in Syria and could use in Ukraine. The Lantset is technically a “loitering munition” designed to attack tanks, vehicle columns, or troop concentrations. Once launched, it circles a predesignated geographic area until detecting a preselected target type. It then crashes itself into the target, detonating the warhead it carries.

Ukraine: Cyber and participation in hostilities, CyberPeace Institute, 7 March 2022

Such engagement does not happen in a legal vacuum. International humanitarian law regulates situations of armed conflict. Its objective is twofold: to limit the means and methods of warfare and to limit its effects for example on persons who are protected – civilians, the wounded and sick, and detainees.  There are modalities to govern what constitutes a legitimate military objective during the conflict, and regarding the distinction between status of combatants and military or civilians.

Cyberwar over Ukraine raises questions about international Geneva’s digital safety, 8 March 2022

In the meantime, cybersecurity experts are concerned about a “spillover” into other countries, and the possibility that a major cyber attack could affect systems worldwide. In Switzerland, 130 Swiss companies and communes still operate on vulnerable systems according to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and organisations that were hacked in the last months such as the ICRC, Swissport, Swisscom, property group DBS and car dealer Emile Frey are extending the country’s already staggering list of breaches.

From cyber-attacks to bot farms: The top tech threats humanitarians face in Ukraine, The New Humanitarian, 9 March 2022

Since at least 2014, Russia has led targeted disinformation campaigns against Ukraine as well as EU and NATO member states. While the number of documented instances is on the rise, aid actors themselves have yet to be explicitly targeted. This could change, particularly given recent allegations of Russian attacks on civilians and humanitarian corridors, as well as its alleged involvement in cyber attacks against aid agencies in the past (see below).

What the tech sector can do to respect human rights in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and beyond, Access Now, 10 March 2022

As the war in Ukraine continues to unfold, it is critical that all businesses, but especially tech companies and those investing in the tech sector, carefully review their ongoing and planned activities in the region to fully understand how and whether their operations can potentially cause or contribute, even indirectly, to any adverse human rights impacts.

Civil society to U.S. government: Do not disrupt internet access in Russia or Belarus, Access Now, 10 March 2022

Signatories to the letter are concerned that the U.S. government and like-minded governments may be considering disrupting internet access in Russia and Belarus through new sanctions. Limiting internet access will hurt individuals attempting to organize in opposition to the war, report openly and honestly on events in Russia and Belarus, and access information about what is happening in Ukraine and beyond.

Facebook and YouTube say they removed Zelensky deepfake, 16 March 2022

The deepfake spread widely online Wednesday, as noticed earlier by Vice's Motherboard. In the video, which CNN Business has reviewed, Zelensky appears to stand behind a presidential podium and in front of a backdrop, both of which feature the Ukranian coat of arms. Wearing a green shirt, Zelensky speaks in Ukranian, appearing to tell Ukranians to put down their weapons in the weeks-old war against Russia.

The online volunteers hunting for war crimes in Ukraine, 16 March 2022

Since the war started, people around the world have been trying to help refugees and the Ukrainian cause. For those with investigative skills like Aeden, who has volunteered for Bellingcat before, that means using their time and effort to analyze material posted on the web by Ukrainians to document possible war crimes, such as bombing civilian buildings or protected spaces like hospitals, and confirm their exact location.

How Technology Might Bring War Criminals To Justice In Ukraine, Forbes, 21 March 2022

As the war of words plays out between governments, people on the ground in Ukraine have been documenting the atrocities in real-time, which are now shared and amplified worldwide through the press, online messaging apps and social media platforms. This proliferation of information aided by technology has global human rights experts cautiously optimistic that Russia’s war in Ukraine could finally be a tipping point for holding those who commit war crimes, specifically attacks on patients and hospitals, accountable for their actions.

Does facial recognition tech in Ukraine’s war bring killer robots nearer? Open Democracy, 30 March 2022

Technology that can recognise the faces of enemy fighters is the latest thing to be deployed to the war theatre of Ukraine. This military use of artificial intelligence has all the markings of a further dystopian turn to what is already a brutal conflict. The US company Clearview AI has offered the Ukrainian government free use of its controversial facial recognition technology. It offered to uncover infiltrators – including Russian military personnel – combat misinformation, identify the dead and reunite refugees with their families.

ICYMI

“Ukraine has been a giant test lab”: Russia’s cyberwar risks more death and collateral damage, Rest of the World, 27 February 2022

Amid intense bombardment of and street fighting in key Ukrainian cities over the weekend and an announcement by President Vladimir Putin on Sunday that Russia is putting its nuclear deterrence forces into high alert, cybersecurity experts worry that the cyber conflict could spill over, causing collateral damage that leads to even more death and destruction in Ukraine, and infecting critical infrastructure or businesses overseas.

For more information look at our special edition newsletter on War in Ukraine and AI, cybersecurity, disinformation on social media and more.

THIS MONTH’S BEST READS 

NGO Calls For Banning Autonomous Nuclear Weapons, FLWL News, 5 March 2022

If the question of killer robots comes back to the fore quite often, that of autonomous nuclear weapons is more worrying. Some of these weapons may indeed already exist and others are in the pipeline. An NGO therefore advises the international community to act in favor of their abandonment.

Artificial Intelligence and the Future of War, 12 March 2022

Consider an alternative history for the war in Ukraine. Intrepid Ukrainian Army units mount an effort to pick off Russian supply convoys. But rather than rely on sporadic air cover, the Russian convoys travel under a blanket of cheap drones. The armed drones carry relatively simple artificial intelligence (AI) that can identify human forms and target them with missiles. The tactic claims many innocent civilians, as the drones kill nearly anyone close enough to the convoys to threaten them with anti-tank weapons. While the Ukrainians attempt to respond to the setback with their own drones, they are overwhelmed by the more numerous Russian drones.

‘Kill more’: Facebook fails to detect hate against Rohingya, 21 March 2022

The report shared exclusively with The Associated Press showed the rights group Global Witness submitted eight paid ads for approval to Facebook, each including different versions of hate speech against Rohingya. All eight ads were approved by Facebook to be published. The group pulled the ads before they were posted or paid for, but the results confirmed that despite its promises to do better, Facebook’s leaky controls still fail to detect hate speech and calls for violence on its platform.

Consumer drones in conflict: where do they fit into IHL? ICRC 15 March 2022

The skies over the conflict in Ukraine are filled with identical-looking consumer drones piloted by combatants and civilians alike – aircraft that promise to be a regular feature of war in the future. Few methods exist for telling small drones apart in airspace: combatants, unable to distinguish between drones that are a threat and those that aren’t, may direct attacks at civilian drone pilots. In this post, civilian drone researcher and consultant Faine Greenwood argues that the aid world must move quickly to better define where small consumer drones fit into international humanitarian law.

Why we need an international body to rein in hate speech during conflict, TNH, 16 March 2022

Online hate speech and disinformation have long incited violence, and sometimes mass atrocities. When this has happened in the Global South, from Ethiopia to Myanmar, much of the world has looked away. But the war in Ukraine means no one can now ignore how social media is being weaponised in conflict. It’s time to consider solutions that reflect the magnitude of the problem, including an international panel with enough teeth to make a difference.

Are You Better Than a Machine at Spotting a Deepfake? Scientific American, 15 March 2022

The creator, Chris Umé, went back and edited individual frames by hand to remove any mistakes or flaws left behind by the algorithm. It takes him about 24 hours of work for each 30-second clip. It makes the videos look eerily realistic. But without that human touch, a lot of flaws show up in algorithmically generated deepfake videos.Being able to discern between deepfakes and real videos is something that social media platforms in particular are really concerned about as they need to figure out how to moderate and filter this content.

Meta Meets the Reality of War, 15 March 2022

For those studying how the Russian invasion of Ukraine is reshaping technology policy, Meta’s decision last week to temporarily permit calls for violence against “invading Russians” will stand among the most consequential episodes of the war. This moment shows how public distrust of Western social media platforms can redound to cast their policies in the most sinister light possible. It also provides a window into the impossible decisions that confront Meta and other technology companies as they try to write wartime content moderation policy in real-time.

ICYMI

C3 ai : AI-Enhanced Modeling and Simulation in the DoD – Moving from the Lab to the Enterprise, 28 February 2022

One critical capability under the DoD's digital transformation initiative is modeling and simulation (M&S)-and with it, the need to integrate multiple technologies into viable, integrated, and functional solutions. The models, whether they are AI-based, physics-based, mathematical, or logical representations, need to leverage all relevant internal and external enterprise data, structured and unstructured, and at multiple security levels. The insights these models generate need to be delivered intuitively and in a manner that is interoperable with an organization's current operations.

THIS MONTH’S WEBINARS AND CONFERENCES

State Media, Social Media, and the Conflict in Ukraine, Cyber Policy Center, 4 March 2022

As the war intensifies, the propaganda battles related to the conflict are already in full force. European governments have attempted to ban RT and Sputnik from platforms operating in the region. Facebook and Twitter have taken an array of actions to demote, label, and demonetize content from these sources. As is so often the case, precedents are being created in wartime that could have dramatic implications for the ways state-sponsored media will be regulated even outside these extreme contexts. To discuss what is happening and what the challenges are, this webinar brings together scholars and experts from the Stanford Cyber Policy Center, social media platforms, and elsewhere in the field.

Science Diplomacy and Emerging Technologies, Science and Diplomacy, 16 March 2022

The AAAS Center for Science Diplomacy published a special issue of Science & Diplomacy in February 2022 that explores the intersection of emerging technologies and diplomacy. The pieces provide a current snapshot of the landscape, reflecting individual experiences, offering an expansive definition of emerging technologies, and suggesting roles for science diplomacy.

To foster discussion about a role for science diplomacy in responding to the challenges and opportunities posed by emerging technologies, the Center hosted a webinar with four authors from selected pieces included in this issue.

THIS MONTH’S REPORTS AND PUBLICATIONS

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Military Defence and Security, CIGI, 7 March 2022

The twenty-first century is now being shaped by a multipolar system characterized by techno-nationalism and a post-Bretton Woods order. In the face of a rapidly evolving digital era, international cooperation will be critical to ensuring peace and security. Information sharing, expert conferences and multilateral dialogue can help the world’s nation-states and their militaries develop a better understanding of one another’s capabilities and intentions. As a global middle power, Canada could be a major partner in driving this effort. This paper explores the development of military-specific capabilities in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Building on Canadian defence policy, the paper outlines the military applications of AI and the resources needed to manage next-generation military operations, including multilateral engagement and technology governance.

ACLED 2021: The Year in Review, March 2022

Few conflicts ended in 2021, and many intensified. Overall levels of political violence remained steady, while its lethality surged to new heights. Civilians bore the brunt, with increases in both violence targeting civilians and civilian fatalities. Where conflict declined last year, fragile ceasefires often obscured the growing risk of escalation — now seen in Yemen and Ukraine. Where long wars ended, such as in Afghanistan, new risks have emerged for civilians.

Reports on Communication Surveillance in Botswana, Malawi and the DRC, and the Chinese Digital Infrastructure surveillance in Zambia, MAIEI, 11 March 2022

Despite being on the periphery of the debate, African nations are strong consumers of digital surveillance technology. A continent lacking in rigorous data laws and comprehensive education on digital rights, it presents terrain ripe for digital surveillance to be installed. The key to disrupting this scenario is education, but it remains to be seen if governments want to form part of this initiative.

Leveraging Technology for Peacebuilding in the ECOWAS region – Documentation of a Consultative Process

The results below provide an overview of technology use by peacebuilders in their interventions. While not exhaustive, the set of quantitative results presented begin to frame the context of the intersection between peacebuilding and technology.

New report on online and technology-facilitated trafficking in human beings, CoE, 18 March 2022

The study explores the strategies, tools and good practices to overcome existing challenges and enhance responses to online and ICT-facilitated human trafficking. The report offers evidence-based recommendations on how to enhance the detection, investigation and prosecution of technology-facilitated trafficking, enhance co-operation with private companies, and strengthen international co-operation. Particular emphasis is placed on training, as investments in human capital are as important as those in technical tools.

THIS MONTH’S PODCAST CHOICE 

MY DIGITAL RESILIENCE: Episode 15: Digital Prepping for Cyberwar

Today Europe is at the start of a potentially major war that could spread beyond the boundaries of Ukraine. In particular, the risk of a widespread and worldwide cyberwar is realistically on the table. Today I am giving tips for securing your money, files, computer and communications against potential cyberwar.

PATCHING THE SYSTEM: Cyber Threats in Ukraine and Beyond, 16 March 2022

Cyberattacks in Ukraine are the latest example of how cyberspace is increasingly a theater of conflict around the world. As part of the Global Stage series, a partnership between Microsoft and GZERO Media, the 5-part podcast “Patching the System” will explore the biggest cyber risks and challenges for governments, corporations, and consumers alike. Through the Cybersecurity Tech Accord, a public commitment from more than 150 technology companies, private sector tech leaders are working to create solutions and foster greater cyber resilience.

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI, by Ben Buchanan and Andrew Imbrie

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing the modern world. It is ubiquitous—in our homes and offices, in the present and most certainly in the future. Today, we encounter AI as our distant ancestors once encountered fire. If we manage AI well, it will become a force for good, lighting the way to many transformative inventions. If we deploy it thoughtlessly, it will advance beyond our control. If we wield it for destruction, it will fan the flames of a new kind of war, one that holds democracy in the balance. As AI policy experts Ben Buchanan and Andrew Imbrie show in The New Fire, few choices are more urgent—or more fascinating—than how we harness this technology and for what purpose.

The new fire has three sparks: data, algorithms, and computing power. These components fuel viral disinformation campaigns, new hacking tools, and military weapons that once seemed like science fiction. To autocrats, AI offers the prospect of centralized control at home and asymmetric advantages in combat. It is easy to assume that democracies, bound by ethical constraints and disjointed in their approach, will be unable to keep up. But such a dystopia is hardly preordained. Combining an incisive understanding of technology with shrewd geopolitical analysis, Buchanan and Imbrie show how AI can work for democracy. With the right approach, technology need not favor tyranny.

Online Library 

On our website, AI for Peace, you can find even more awesome content, podcasts, articles, white papers and book suggestions that can help you navigate through AI and peace fields. Check our online library!