The future of non-proliferation and arms control is not about nuclear weapons themselves but rather their entanglement with new advanced conventional weapons, artificial intelligence, cyber and other disruptive technologies, observed VCDNP Executive Director Elena Sokova during her keynote speech at the Hamburg (Insecurity) Sessions' "(No) Future Weapons?" panel on 22 November 2019.
The current security environment faces two major challenges. On the one hand, the international arms control and security architecture are deteriorating. Doctrinal innovations, first in Russia and then in the United States, allow for limited use of nuclear weapons, including potentially the low-yield varieties. On the other hand, advanced conventional weapons, cyber warfare, artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies increase the risk of conflict, which could escalate to nuclear level.
"As always, it is not about technologies. It is about the way we use them. They can be stabilizing or destabilizing depending on choices people make. Growing concerns probably reflect widespread pessimism caused by the long history of failures of the humankind to prevent the most dangerous application of new technologies."
Ms. Sokova joined other renowned non-proliferation experts at the Hamburg (Insecurity) Sessions, including co-keynote speaker and former US Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance Frank Rose.
The Hamburg (Insecurity) Sessions are a series of conferences and workshops aimed at finding innovative approaches to the most urgent problems facing the international community.
