As a university with st rong expertise in ethics and responsible innovation, VU Amsterdam i s well positioned to facilitate dialogue on the complex questions surrounding dual-use research.
This is why the Centre Def ence and Resilient Society (CDWS) organises a dialogue session on Dual-Use to address how research and techn ology can serve both civilian and military purposes, raising concerns about responsibility, design, and potential misuse.
< p>In debates at universities, including those at Vrije Universit eit Amsterdam, the dual-use character of research and technology is&n bsp;frequently mentioned as a reason for caution regarding collaborations with defence organizations. The argument is that scientific knowledge developed for civilian applications can be repurposed for military objectives. Or that technology developed in collaboration with defence may fall into the wrong hand s. This raises the concern that researchers may become implicated in warfare or surveillance.CDWS facilitates the&n bsp;debate on dual-use, emphasizing that concerns should go beyond how technologies are used after their development. First of a ll, many technologies are inherently dual-use. For example, AI can as sist in medical diagnosis but can also be integrated into autonomous weapons systems. Drones can support climate change monitoring while a lso enabling military surveillance or targeting. Secondly, dual-use p ossibilities are not accidental. Design choices, system architectures , and funding priorities can make the development of certain technolo gies easier and more likely than others.
Dual-use comes with im portant ethical questions. If technologies indeed embody particular v alues and interests, responsibility cannot be limited to end users. D evelopers, researchers, and funders must consider whether or how spec ific technologies should be created and whose interests they serve. I n the CDWS workshop on dual-use, we aim to explore how the discussion on dual-use can shift from evaluating the consequences of use to exa mining values in knowledge production and design choices prior to imp lementation and use.
Next to ethical considerations, dual-use r aise economic and legal concerns. Governments increasingly regulate t he export of sensitive technologies to certain countries. They do thi s in order to protect national security, to maintain strategic advant ages, and to prevent the proliferation of military capabilities. In t his context, law provides the framework that makes these principles e nforceable, for example through export controls. However, legal inter vention often occurs late in the innovation process. In the dialogue session, we seek to understand how governance can steer this process toward socially desirable outcomes.
Recognizing the non-neutral ity of technology, the CDWS dialogue session facilitates a dialogue o n how ethics, law, and governance an co-shape knowledge production an d technological development in the context of defence and resilient s ociety, from the expertise of VU Amsterdam and other institutions.
We invite VU researchers from all different disciplines together to discuss Dual-Use in a multidisciplinary setting.
DESCRIPTION: This is why the Centre Defence and Resilie nt Society (CDWS) organises a dialogue session on Dual -Use to address how research and technology can serve both civil ian and military purposes, raising concerns about responsibility, des ign, and potential misuse. In debates at universitie s, including those at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the dual-use char acter of research and technology is frequently mentioned as a reason for caution regarding collaborations with defence organizations. The argument is that scientific knowledge develo ped for civilian applications can be repurposed for military obj ectives. Or that technology developed in collaboration with defe nce may fall into the wrong hands. This raises the concern that researchers may become implicated in warfare or surveillance. C DWS facilitates the debate on dual-use, emph asizing that concerns should go beyond how technologies are used afte r their development. First of all, many technologies are inherently d ual-use. For example, AI can assist in medical diagnosis but can also be integrated into autonomous weapons systems. Drones can support cl imate change monitoring while also enabling military surveillance or targeting. Secondly, dual-use possibilities are not accidental. Desig n choices, system architectures, and funding priorities can make the development of certain technologies easier and more likely than other s. Dual-use comes with important ethical questions. If technologies i ndeed embody particular values and interests, responsibility cannot b e limited to end users. Developers, researchers, and funders must con sider whether or how specific technologies should be created and whos e interests they serve. In the CDWS workshop on dual-use, we aim to e xplore how the discussion on dual-use can shift from evaluating the c onsequences of use to examining values in knowledge production and de sign choices prior to implementation and use. Next to ethical conside rations, dual-use raise economic and legal concerns. Governments incr easingly regulate the export of sensitive technologies to certain cou ntries. They do this in order to protect national security, to mainta in strategic advantages, and to prevent the proliferation of military capabilities. In this context, law provides the framework that makes these principles enforceable, for example through export controls. H owever, legal intervention often occurs late in the innovation proces s. In the dialogue session, we seek to understand how governance can steer this process toward socially desirable outcomes. Recognizing th e non-neutrality of technology, the CDWS dialogue session facilitates a dialogue on how ethics, law, and governance an co-shape knowledge production and technological development in the context of defence an d resilient society, from the expertise of VU Amsterdam and other ins titutions. We invite VU researchers from all different disciplines to gether to discuss Dual-Use in a multidisciplinary setting. Sign up! As a university with strong expertise in ethics and respon sible innovation, VU Amsterdam is well positioned to facilitate di alogue on the complex questions surrounding dual-use research. END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR