As a university with strong expertise in ethics and responsible innovation, VU Amsterdam is well positioned to facilitate dialogue on the complex questions surrounding dual-use research.
From a legal perspective, dual-use is understood through the framework of export control and the EU Dual-Use Regulation. While international c ooperation and the exchange of knowledge and technology are essential for both the national innovation landscape and the international aca demic community, the same knowledge and technologies may also be misu sed. Examples include the development of weapons of mass destruction, unwanted military applications, or technologies that could contribut e to human rights violations. Goods, technologies, and related knowle dge that present such risks fall within the scope of the EU Dual-Use Regulation. However, in this dialogue session we take a broader persp ective on dual-use. Rather than focusing solely on regulatory complia nce, we aim to explore the wider ethical, legal, economic, and govern ance questions that arise when research and innovation can serve both civilian and military purposes.
This is why the Centre&n bsp;Defence and Resilient Society (CDWS) organise s a dialogue session on Dual-Use to address how research an d technology can serve both civilian and military purposes, raising c oncerns about responsibility, design, and potential misuse. &nbs p;
In debates at universities, including those at Vrije Un iversiteit Amsterdam, the dual-use character of research and technolo gy is frequently mentioned as a reason for caution regardin g collaborations with defence organizations. The argum ent is that scientific knowledge developed for civilian applications can be repurposed for military objectives. Or that technology de veloped in collaboration with defence may fall into the wro ng hands. This raises the concern that researchers may become implica ted in warfare or surveillance.
CDWS facilitates&nbs p;the debate on dual-use, emphasizing that concerns sh ould go beyond how technologies are used after their development. Fir st of all, many technologies are inherently dual-use. For example, AI can assist in medical diagnosis but can also be integrated into auto nomous weapons systems. Drones can support climate change monitoring while also enabling military surveillance or targeting. Secondly, dua l-use possibilities are not accidental. Design choices, system archit ectures, and funding priorities can make the development of certain t echnologies easier and more likely than others.
Dual-use comes with important ethical questions. If technologies indeed embody parti cular values and interests, responsibility cannot be limited to end u sers. Developers, researchers, and funders must consider whether or h ow specific technologies should be created and whose interests they s erve. In the CDWS workshop on dual-use, we aim to explore how the dis cussion on dual-use can shift from evaluating the consequences of use to examining values in knowledge production and design choices prior to implementation and use.
Next to ethical considerations, dua l-use raise economic and legal concerns. Governments increasingly reg ulate the export of sensitive technologies to certain countries. They do this in order to protect national security, to maintain strategic advantages, and to prevent the proliferation of military capabilitie s. In this context, law provides the framework that makes these princ iples enforceable, for example through export controls. However, lega l intervention often occurs late in the innovation process. In the di alogue session, we seek to understand how governance can steer this p rocess toward socially desirable outcomes.
Recognizing the non- neutrality of technology, the CDWS dialogue session facilitates a dia logue on how ethics, law, and governance an co-shape knowledge produc tion and technological development in the context of defence and resi lient society, from the expertise of VU Amsterdam and other instituti ons.
We invite VU researchers from all different disciplines to gether to discuss Dual-Use in a multidisciplinary setting.
DESCRIPTION: As a university with strong expertise in ethics and responsible innovation, VU Amsterdam is well positioned to& nbsp;facilitate dialogue on the complex questions surrounding du al-use research. From a legal perspective, dual-use is understood thr ough the framework of export control and the EU Dual-Use Regulation. While international cooperation and the exchange of knowledge and tec hnology are essential for both the national innovation landscape and the international academic community, the same knowledge and technolo gies may also be misused. Examples include the development of weapons of mass destruction, unwanted military applications, or technologies that could contribute to human rights violations. Goods, technologie s, and related knowledge that present such risks fall within the scop e of the EU Dual-Use Regulation. However, in this dialogue session we take a broader perspective on dual-use. Rather than focusing solely on regulatory compliance, we aim to explore the wider ethical, legal, economic, and governance questions that arise when research and inno vation can serve both civilian and military purposes. This is wh y the Centre Defence and Resilient Society (CDWS) organises a dialogue session on Dual-Use to address h ow research and technology can serve both civilian and military purpo ses, raising concerns about responsibility, design, and potential mis use. In debates at universities, including those at V rije Universiteit Amsterdam, the dual-use character of research and t echnology is frequently mentioned as a reason for caution r egarding collaborations with defence organizations. Th e argument is that scientific knowledge developed for civilian applic ations can be repurposed for military objectives. Or that techno logy developed in collaboration with defence may fall into the wrong hands. This raises the concern that researchers may become implicated in warfare or surveillance. CDWS facilitates&nbs p;the debate on dual-use, emphasizing that concerns sh ould go beyond how technologies are used after their development. Fir st of all, many technologies are inherently dual-use. For example, AI can assist in medical diagnosis but can also be integrated into auto nomous weapons systems. Drones can support climate change monitoring while also enabling military surveillance or targeting. Secondly, dua l-use possibilities are not accidental. Design choices, system archit ectures, and funding priorities can make the development of certain t echnologies 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 raise ec onomic and legal concerns. Governments increasingly regulate the expo rt of sensitive technologies to certain countries. They do this in or der to protect national security, to maintain strategic advantages, a nd to prevent the proliferation of military capabilities. In this con text, law provides the framework that makes these principles enforcea ble, for example through export controls. However, legal intervention 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-neutrality of technol ogy, the CDWS dialogue session facilitates a dialogue on how ethics, law, and governance an co-shape knowledge production and technologica l development in the context of defence and resilient society, from t he expertise of VU Amsterdam and other institutions.We invite VU rese archers from all different disciplines together to discuss Dual-Use i n a multidisciplinary setting.Sign up! END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR