On 16 and 17 June, RAW researcher Marijn Hoijtink together with Erik Reichborn-Kjennerud hosted a workshop in Antwerp for contributors to the forthcoming special issue AI, Militarism, and Security in the Cambridge Forum on AI: Culture and Society. The workshop brought together an international group of senior and early-career scholars from different scientific fields to discuss emerging research on the growing role of artificial intelligence in war, security, and military governance.
The contributions and discussions covered a wide range of topics related to the role of AI in contemporary warfare and security. Recurring themes included the foundations of militarised ways of seeing and knowing; historical continuities and new configurations linking technology companies, military institutions, and broader society; the movement of algorithmic technologies between military, policing, and other security settings; and questions about the political, economic, and social conditions that enable and sustain forms of algorithmic warfare. Together, these discussions highlighted the importance of critically examining how AI is reshaping security practices and their implications for civilian populations.
As a project dedicated to understanding the realities of algorithmic warfare and its consequences for civilian populations, RAW welcomes these critical conversations on the social, political, and humanitarian implications of military AI. The workshop provided an important opportunity to advance interdisciplinary research on the challenges that AI-driven forms of warfare pose for both security and civilian protection.
The workshop programme, including details on participating scholars and presentations, is available on the Platform Wars website.
