For decades, human skills alone were sufficient to resolve conflicts. Experts say AI could help. But there are also risks.
Doha, Qatar – A diplomat who travels around the world. Meetings held in secret are never made public. For centuries, the art of conflict mediation has relied on subtle human skills, from simple factors like how to make eye contact and how to listen carefully, to detecting emotional shifts and subtle signals from the other side. has been dependent on.
A growing number of entrepreneurs and professionals are now pitching dramatic new tools to the world of dispute resolution, increasing their reliance on artificial intelligence (AI).
“Breaking technological advances are revolutionizing the front lines of peace and mediation,” said a private company that uses AI and data analytics to collect unencrypted information in conflict zones. said Samah Al Hamdani, Program Director of Hala System.
“We are witnessing an era where AI transforms mediators into engines of efficiency and insight,” Alhamdani said.
The researcher is one of thousands of speakers attending the Web Summit in Doha, Qatar, where digital conflict mediation is on the agenda. The four-day summit begins on February 26th and ends on Thursday, February 29th.
Experts say digital solutions have already proven effective in complex diplomacy. At the peak of COVID-19 restrictions, mediators were unable to travel to meet face-to-face with their interlocutors.
solution? Use the telecommunications software Skype to facilitate negotiations, as then-U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad did during the 2020 Qatar-brokered talks between the U.S. and the Taliban.
For generations, power brokers have met in secret to make decisions that affect a wide range of people. Digital technology has made the process relatively comprehensive.
This is how Stephanie Williams, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya, integrated personal and digital interactions in 2021 as she led a mediation effort to establish a roadmap for elections. This is what we did when using the hybrid model. This strategy has helped her speak to people living in areas considered too dangerous to travel to. The United Nations estimates that Mr. Williams has succeeded in reaching one million Libyans.
However, practitioners are now increasingly interested in using technology beyond online consultations.
Geographic information systems (GIS) store information on maps to monitor ceasefire agreements. Virtual reality (VR), on the other hand, creates an immersive environment that allows diplomats to better understand what is happening in the far-off crisis they are mediating.
In 2021, the United Nations invited a group of diplomats to experiment with VR to understand its verification mission's work on the peace process in Colombia. The ambassadors said they were able to get a glimpse of the conditions, fears and emotions that people in this country are experiencing.
“It's more direct, more emotional, less letters and documents,” said one diplomat.
Another official said, “Awareness will increase and diplomacy may become more effective.''
AI technology also enables rapid analysis of large amounts of data, reducing months of work to minutes for machines to read public sentiment and warn of new threats to the peace process. Machine learning helps identify patterns and correlations and create scenarios for what stakeholders can do and when.
A UN initiative has developed a pilot project in Uganda that uses AI tools such as voice recognition technology to analyze large amounts of information from radio broadcasts. This allows researchers to gauge public sentiment on a variety of issues, from climate change to refugees fleeing the South. Sudan.
But not everything is rosy. AI is developed by engineers who have their own biases just like any other human being. Experts have warned that the technology is fed with data from the internet and could reinforce or amplify existing social prejudices and encourage discrimination.
On the other hand, authenticating information and collating complex evidence is of paramount importance now that it is so easy to fake images and news.
“In any dispute resolution process, evidence needs to be shared in order for both sides to go to the mediation saying, 'This is what we all know to be true,'” said Tom, founder of the support app OpenOrigins. One Mansoor Ahmed Rangers said. Detect whether an image is human or generated by AI.
“Mediation cannot occur unless there is a basis of common beliefs and a common understanding of the situation,” said Ahmed Rangers, who is also attending the Web Summit.
Technology can help. Information, online legal resolutions, and voting records must be authenticated and stored in a secure location to prevent damage. Ultra-secure vaults deep underground in banks are useless in the Web 3.0 era. The goal today, analysts say, is to store digital material in as many places as possible. This is the role of blockchain technology. Materials are stored in an immutable distributed system.
Richard Gowan, director of the UN's International Crisis Group, said digital technology was becoming increasingly common in peace negotiations, allowing mediators to see conflicts from new angles.
“But I also think we need to remember that at the heart of any political process remains a correspondence between individuals with deeply held prejudices, fears and ideologies,” Gowan said. Told.
“Unless we develop the technology of a 'Men in Black' movie to erase people's memories, the human side of peace will still be important.”