Can humanity mitigate the risks before it's too late?

On Monday, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo said that the world must mitigate the risk posed by digital technologies. The responsible usage of such technologies can advance and support peacebuilding efforts, however, their irresponsible usage has more often than not resulted in great humanitarian damage.

Terrorist groups such as IS and Al-Qaeda have used low-budget technological tools to further their reach and expand their opportunities. According to DiCarlo, these groups remained “active on social media, using platforms and messaging applications to share information and communicate with followers for the purposes of recruitment, planning and fundraising." This continued usage of technologies raised a variety of human rights-related concerns.

The number of state- and non-state-sponsored incidents of misusage of digital technologies for political or military goals has increased radically, almost quadrupled, since 2015. A large part of these malicious activities targeted infrastructure pertaining to health services and humanitarian infrastructure.

DiCarlo is concerned that digital technologies can eventually turn artificial intelligence development into a military and paramilitary tool for terror attacks that can target communities or individuals.