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mission statement of the United Nations blue helmets [UN].
Artificial Intelligence is being applied in many fields, including international relations, as is the case in the specific aspect of its use in peacekeeping missions and humanitarian operations. In addition to contributing to the improvement of the international community's response to specific situations, it also constitutes a cooperation tool between countries.
Since a few years ago, Artificial Intelligence has emerged as a useful tool in the development of society. All areas of human life have been transformed in one way or another, including the area of international politics and diplomacy as well as security and warfare.
For the specific case, we will consider its role in peacekeeping missions and humanitarian operations. The main goal of AI in this field is to improve efficiency, precision and security in more unstable places with few resources. In this way, it has enabled a faster and more efficient response in critical crisis and even conflict situations. In addition, it also functions as an international cooperation tool , essential in such an interconnected world, fostering the partnership between countries and organizations.
However, the use of Artificial Intelligence also raises ethical and social challenges, such as the way in which personal data should be managed and the responsibility in decision making. It is important to consider these issues when analyzing this topic in order to obtain a more complete view.
Common applications
Before starting to analyze how artificial intelligence has transformed international cooperation and the challenges it poses, it is necessary to analyze the different uses it can have in the field of peacekeeping missions and humanitarian operations.
One of them is that it optimizes logistics in both issues. The role of logistics is core topic, as it allows planning and determining the best time to send materials and staff to the right places. As this is a area not very predictable, given that it is usually managed in humanitarian and natural crisis contexts, the introduction of artificial intelligence has been a clear breakthrough. It has made more efficient the submission of financial aid and the assessment of needs, depending on the geographical area. One of the most common initiatives in this area is the use of drones, used for example during the Libyan floods in 2023. These drones are able to take images of the affected areas and identify the level of financial aid needed.
On the other hand, it is also useful as tool for risk analysis and conflict prevention. In this case, the use of AI is intended to analyze data of previous crises in a specific territory in order to prevent their repetition in the future. In this way, international organizations can anticipate that a certain part of their material and economic resources will have to be allocated to these areas and mitigate further damage in a certain way. An example of this internship can be seen in African countries such as Senegal or Mali. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has been one of the many organizations that has joined this proposal and, through mobile applications, financial aid to more than 300,000 farmers in these countries, the necessary information for their work. Thanks to this, food conservation has improved and unnecessary losses have been reduced, leading to an increase in food status .
It is also important to mention that artificial intelligence has been used to search for missing persons or family reunification. When a country has been affected by a conflict or natural disaster, the first plan of action is to try to evacuate the population, which usually causes many people to disappear or lose the location of their relatives. The 'Trade the Face' application is a clear example of this scenario. Although its initial goal was to search for migrants, over time it has evolved and is now one of the most important online tools, in which you can insert photographs of people you are looking for.
International cooperation has been aided by artificial intelligence. Partnerships between non-governmental organizations and international organizations are becoming increasingly common. The purpose of this is to coordinate effective and rapid responses in conflict zones.
Ethical challenges and considerations
Despite the advances made by artificial intelligence in this field, its rapid evolution has led to the emergence of numerous challenges.
In most of the applications analyzed, the use of data has been observed. The employment of sensitive data , such as photographs and data biometrics, can result in a violation of privacy. Since these practices began, there have been numerous cases of data leaks due to lack of control and hacker access to them. One of the challenges now facing experts is to improve systems to prevent their knowledge dissemination. This is very important when it comes to humanitarian operations and missing persons, especially because it is about protecting the most vulnerable people.
A second challenge is the possibility of certain institutions using artificial intelligence as a tool to cause harm. The clearest way in which this assumption is seen is in the creation of autonomous weapons that can act without human intervention. Drones, such as the Harop system that became famous for its use in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 2020, have been multiplying in recent years.
Also related to the automation of the weapons is the question of possible errors in the programming of the weapons or the intrusion of hackers into the system. The big concern is their lack of human judgment and speed of decision making that leave little room for action in the event of a sudden attack. When this happens, civilians have result been injured, which also manifests a violation of international law.
At final, although artificial intelligence has great benefits in the field of humanitarian missions and peace operations, its use has begun to move towards attitudes that are more harmful to human beings. This has result manifested in numerous ethical and social problems. Now, actors in the international system are beginning to wonder about a possible stricter regulation of artificial intelligence.
framework regulatory
Due to the speed with which artificial intelligence has been created and applied, it has been necessary to develop initiatives and a regulatory framework in order to control the challenges mentioned above.
Firstly, last year the United Nations created a new body, the High Level Body on Artificial Intelligence advisor . Its main objective goal is to promote a sustainable and effective development of this technology, avoiding possible abuses by large companies and trying to ensure that its benefits reach the countries that need it most. Recently, the body has published a report on seven key measures, including the creation of a global fund and an international scientific panel. The aim is to arrive at a future uniform international legal framework to which all countries must adhere.
For its part, the European Union also introduced the Artificial Intelligence Act last year. This became the first law dedicated to this new technology. One of the objectives it seeks to achieve is to improve healthcare attendance , a fact core topic in the response to humanitarian crises. Through requirements such as transparency and its classification of the possible risks involved, it has managed to establish a basic regulation to be followed by the member states.
Finally, it may be important to mention the General Data Protection Regulation data, a European regulation that has laid down the instructions for a more ethical treatment of personal data . Among its provisions is the assessment of specific risks to individuals and the specific measures to be taken in such cases. Thus, harmonization of regulation has been promoted, improving cooperation.
It is possible that, as artificial intelligence develops further and the possibility of more harmful use is foreseen, a regulatory framework similar to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty may need to be sought.
This being the case, while it is true that artificial intelligence will gradually improve cooperation in humanitarian missions and peace operations, it is still necessary to have certain restrictions on its use due to the potential problems that may arise. Once states and organizations begin to implement broader regulations, consideration may be given to expanding its scope of use.