What are the implications of the development and use of weapons systems based on artificial intelligence (AI)? Do highly automated target recognition and decision-making systems lead to fatal consequences for civilians? How can civil society perspectives be integrated into the discourse? The competence network "Meaningful Human Control - Autonomous Weapon Systems between Regulation and Reflection" (MeHuCo), led by Paderborn University, aims to develop innovative research perspectives and initiate civil society debates. Prof. Dr. Jutta Weber, Head of MeHuCo and Professor of Media Sociology at the Paderborn Institute of Media Studies, is organising the conference "Investigating the Kill Cloud" in cooperation with the Disruption Network Lab from Friday, 29 November to Sunday, 1 December in Berlin. The conference will examine how not only war technologies are changing under the influence of AI, but also the global security architecture. Interested parties can now register to take part on site or follow the event via stream. Further information can be found on the event website.
Global cooperation and research
"MeHuCo" was launched in April 2022 and is sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with around 2,250,000 euros. In addition to Paderborn University, researchers from the universities of Bonn, Hamburg, Hanover and Ostfalia University in Wolfenbüttel are also involved in the project. With the help of an interdisciplinary and international dialogue, the team is committed to critically reflecting on current AI-based developments in the military and their location from a historical and cultural perspective.
As part of the project, fellowships are also awarded to researchers from the Global South in order to strengthen the inclusive and postcolonial perspective in the international debate on autonomous weapons systems beyond Western hegemonies. In May 2024, four fellows from Brazil, India, Nigeria and Zimbabwe came to Paderborn for a working meeting lasting several days. One of the fellows, Ishmael Bhila, who began his doctoral dissertation at Paderborn University, is now staying in Paderborn on a long-term basis to complete his doctorate with Weber. Back in May of this year, the media sociology professor organised an international conference together with Dr. Jens Hälterlein on the topic of "Imaginations of Autonomy. On Humans, AI-Based Weapon Systems and Responsibility at Machine Speed", which received international recognition.
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