Road to UNIDIR’s AISE26 webinar series

As artifical intelligence (AI) systems rapidly evolve, their effects are becoming increasingly relevant across diverse security contexts, raising urgent questions for international governance from an ever-wider range of perspectives. Through a series of specialised webinars, Road to AISE26 seeks to examine some of the most underexplored and foundational dimensions of AI security and governance.

In the lead-up to UNIDIR’s Global Conference on AI, Security and Ethics 2026 (AISE26), the webinars are structured as “waypoints” on the road to the conference. Each session offers an in-depth exploration of a domain-specific theme, through targeted, expert-led dialogues drawing on submissions to the conference’s open call for abstracts.

With speakers selected on the basis of outstanding submissions, the webinar subjects span biosecurity, foundational concepts, frontier systems and evolving dynamics in international AI governance.

Agenda

Waypoint 1: Hidden security threats and international security implications of frontier AI systems

The event will examine underexplored risks arising from the integration of frontier AI into operational environments and security workflows critical to international, regional and national security. Speakers will discuss vulnerabilities of premature AI systems, including the scaling of high-risk systems and their inclusion in decision-support architectures, as well as threats to the information space in cyber and international security contexts. The session will also assess whether existing frameworks and response mechanisms are sufficient to address the implications of frontier AI offensive capabilities and propose practical tools to translate policy commitments into operational governance.

1. Securing access to frontier AI models: Risks and countermeasures
   • Louise Marie Hurel, Senior Research Fellow, Royal United Services Institute
     
2. Operationalizing AI governance for national security: The AI risk × readiness decision framework
   • Marina Theodotou, Center for Frontier AI Security
     
3. A multilingual multimodal AI framework for detecting information threats in cybersecurity and international security contexts
   • Eli Ocen, United Nations Youth Delegate for the Republic of Uganda, Government of Uganda
     
     

Waypoint 2: Intent, control and judgment – Demystifying foundational terms on AI and security

This event will invite the audience to explore three foundational concepts in AI and security governance: intent, control, and judgment. Often associated with human traits, speakers will examine how these concepts apply in AI contexts. From operational settings to frontier applications, the session will encourage participants to challenge assumptions through an interdisciplinary dialogue.

1. Don’t control AI, command it: Governing military AI through meaningful human command
   • Adam Hepworth, Australian Army
     
2. The end of human judgment in the kill chain? Relocating initiative and interpretation with agentic AI
   • Jovana Davidovic, PRIO and University of Iowa
     
3. From selection to generation: Why AI targeting demands a governance revolution
   • Christopher Ankersen, Global Security, Conflict, and Cybercrime, New York University Center for Global Affairs
     
4. Engineering traceability for artificial intelligence systems that learn beyond their original training intent
   • Leslie Wellington Sirora, Zimbabwe Center for High Performance Computing
     
     

Waypoint 3: To be confirmed

More information to be provided in due course.

Waypoint 4: Breeding ground for risks?: Governing the emerging challenges of AI development for biosecurity 

This event will explore the implications of AI development for biosecurity governance. From the design of novel pathogens and the circumvention of detection systems to the amplification of mis- and disinformation during disease outbreaks, these risks are raising new international security and governance challenges. Speakers will examine emerging threats and the evolution of the biotechnology landscape and AI’s role within it, with a particular focus on how Southeast Asian nations are navigating the AI–bio convergence.

1. AI, biotechnology and the Biological Weapons Convention: Closing emerging governance gaps
   • Peter Babigumira Ahabwe, Bureau of the Working Group on Strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention, Science and Technology Friend of the Chair
     
2. Beyond silos: Governing the AI–biotech convergence in Southeast Asia
   • Julius Cesar Imperial Trajano, Research Fellow, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University Singapore
     
3. Advancing secure and beneficial AI-enabled biological capabilities: Governance frameworks from the AIxBio Global Forum
   • Hayley Severance, NTI
   • Jake Jordan, NTI
     

When and where

The webinars will be held online. Below are the dates and times for each waypoint:

• Waypoint 1: Friday, 29 May | 13:00-14:30 CEST | Register here.
• Waypoint 2: Friday, 5 June | 15:00-16:30 CEST | Register here.
• Waypoint 3: To be confirmed.
• Waypoint 4: Monday, 15 June | 13:00-14:30 CEST | Register here.

Check your local time here.

Further information

For any questions, please contact Yasmin Afina at yasmin.afina@un.org.