On 28 September 2024, in conjunction with the third annual Helsinki Security Forum (HSF), the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) organised a REMIT side event on “Military Use of AI and its Governance”.
The expert panel comprised of Professor Vili Lehdonvirta (Aalto University) and REMIT consortium partners Acting Deputy Director Katja Creutz (FIIA) and Professor Michal Onderco (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and chaired by Senior Research Fellow Ville Sinkkonen (FIIA). The panel started with a discussion on AI in general, from which it moved to military applications of it, and further to what the EU can do in this space. Central themes were the role of public and private actors in AI governance, intergovernmental efforts, gepolitical/geostrategic rivalry, and the EU’s place in the big picture.
The panel discussion was followed by an active participation from the 50-member audience in the Q&A session, discussing among other things, various governance initiatives, the building-blocks of AI, and whether there is cause for concern over AI development.
The Helsinki Security Forum is an annual security conference organised by the Finnish Institute of International Affairs in Helsinki Finland, bringing together over 200 decision-makers and international security and defence experts and influencers to discuss international security and defence issues. The third annual Helsinki Security Forum was organised under the theme “Toward a Total Defence of Europe – From Apathy to Action? ”.
(Images by Roni Rekomaa / Finnish Institute of International Affairs)