VIEW Dual-use technologies and setting norms
By Riefqi Muna
Riefqi Muna
The deployment of 526 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in the skies of southern China's Guizhou Province in May during the 2019 China International Big Data Industry Expo shows the rapid development of swarm drone technology. A similar exhibition was conducted by Intel in 2016 with 500 drones, up from 100 drones in 2015.
Technological development in swarm control shows significant progress for civilian and military uses. Technology is neutral until it used according to the will of the operator. Weaponizing the swarm drone changes the future of warfare.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the brain of cyber-physical-systems (CPS) and the technology behind swarm drones. A May 31 report in
magazine shows AI agents are getting better and beating humans in some decisive tasks. In a games simulation, reinforcement learning (RL) has shown great success in increasingly complex single-agent environments.
Human progress and civilization and its raison d'etre continue to push advances in science, technology and innovation, and invention has led us to reach the current state of the industrial revolution. Advancing technologies play a crucial role in social and military progress. Technology development fulfills industrial advancement, economic growth, the welfare of society and contributes to human emancipation.
Here, this dual use could pose a challenge to international security when the technologies fall into the
― irresponsible state (despotic and undemocratic regimes) and non-state actors, such as terrorists or criminal groups.
Dual use
The term dual use
technology and software for military and civilian purposes or technological operations that are both beneficial and harmful. Examples include unmanned systems (such as drones), robotics, nano-electronics, information and communication technologies (ICT), sensors, energy storage, photonics, 3D printing and biometrics.
The dual-use phenomenon raises ethical issues for decision-makers at each of these levels because they all face the question of how to strike a balance between security concerns and the promotion of academic freedom, and scientific progress and technological development.
Current issues of dual-use technology are more complex than in the past as a consequence of human progress in scientific and technological innovation.
Generally, dual-use control is based on the Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, a multilateral export control regime (MECR). The European Union (EU) Control List of Dual-Use Items was recently
d. The four multilateral export control regimes continuously update their trade controls on goods and technologies ― the Australia Group (AG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-use Goods and Technologies.
As competition for technological advantage deepens, creating rivalry between states, challenges to national security policy are rising. This poses possible risks of the technology falling into the hands of irresponsible actors, undemocratic regimes or unlawful non-state actors.
Autonomous technologies could threaten established world air forces and terrorists' access to such technologies could create private squadrons that could be devastating to strategic and vital installations and populations in rural and urban environments.
The AI system that supports the "brain" of the driverless car, for example, could be used in military technology to select a human target, because the driverless car is dynamically able to identify people. However, implementation in killer robot technology still faces the difficulty of discerning between civilians and enemy combatants.
When technology is still at the research and development (R&D) stage (with some experimental technologies at an operational level), there is a need to review and approach from an ethical aspect, strategic and doctrinal policy as well as tactical and operational points.
Norm-setting
From the security policy point of view, issues of building norms and a regime are crucial to providing a framework and reference for control of dual-use technology. It is essential for international norms that build on the political system of democracy.
A theory of democratic peace posits that democracies are hesitant to engage in armed conflict with other democracies. Conflict generally emerges involving a non-democratic regime that behaves erratically in international relations or with a neighbor. It is a duty as a
to provide a better example in improving governance for international peace.
International security and relations that provide a backdrop for dual-use of technology to operate require a peaceful environment that can be promoted via good governance, trust and confidence.
While strengthening the current dual-use technology regime, it is also essential to pay attention to the non-technical element, the soft aspect of policies, to boost cooperation among democracies to build better trust and confidence, and promote globally democratic values and good governance.
There could be a more positive way in cooperation among democracies by developing technologies, joint research, studies and projects that provide better economies and living standards.
It is true that sometimes regulations lag behind human and technological progress. This challenges states and the international system effectively to regulate versus the speed of technological development and calls for a critical ethical decision-making process.
Riefqi Muna is co-founder of ROOTS (Research and Operation on Technology & Society), Jakarta.