Road to AISE26 webinar series

As artificial 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 specialized 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.

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

The event examined underexplored risks arising from the integration of frontier AI into operational environments and security workflows critical to international, regional and national security. Speakers discussed 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 also assessed whether existing frameworks and response mechanisms are sufficient to address the implications of frontier AI offensive capabilities and proposed practical tools to translate policy commitments into operational governance.

1. Securing access to frontier AI models: Risks and countermeasures
   • Dr Louise Marie Hurel, Royal United Services Institute
     
2. Operationalizing AI governance for national security: The AI risk × readiness decision framework
   • Dr 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
     

Event recording

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

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

1. Don’t control AI, command it: Governing military AI through meaningful human command
   • Dr Adam Hepworth, University of New South Wales
     
2. The end of human judgment in the kill chain? Relocating initiative and interpretation with agentic AI
   • Dr Jovana Davidovic, Peace Research Institute Oslo and University of Iowa
     
3. From selection to generation: Why AI targeting demands a governance revolution
   • Dr Christopher Ankersen, 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

Event recording

Waypoint 3: Shifting weights and dynamics in international military AI governance

This event invited the speakers and the audience to consider, collectively, the changing dynamics in international governance of military AI. While engagement within multilateral institutions is shifting rapidly, small and middle powers are playing an increasingly important role in shaping norms in the emerging debate on AI governance in the military domain. The webinar also constituted an opportunity to consider how military AI confidence-building measures architecture can advance, even as the weights and dynamics evolve.

1. Closing the dual gaps in military AI governance — Discourse and operationalization deficits for small and middle powers
   • Dr Bagus Jatmiko, Indonesian Navy
     
2. Can confidence-building measures keep pace with military AI? Lessons from the India-Pakistan nuclear dyad
   • Dr Anum A Khan, Network for Security, Strategy and Technology
     
3. Beyond consensus: Global South fragmentation and the limits of multilateral negotiation on lethal autonomous weapons systems
   • Candy Moyo, Department of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa; Geneva Centre for Security Policy; University of Geneva
     

Event recording

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

This event explored 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 examined 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, Ministry of Health of Uganda
     
2. Beyond silos: Governing the AI–biotech convergence in Southeast Asia
   • Julius Cesar Imperial Trajano, Nanyang Technological University Singapore
     
3. Advancing secure and beneficial AI-enabled biological capabilities: Governance frameworks from the AIxBio Global Forum
   • Hayley Severance, Nuclear Threat Initiative
   • Dr Jake Jordan, Nuclear Threat Initiative
     
4. AI and biological weapons: Risks, technical limits, and procurement applications
   • Clarisse Bertherat, UNIDIR

Event recording

When and where

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

• Waypoint 1: Friday, 29 May | 13:00-14:30 CEST
• Waypoint 2: Friday, 5 June | 15:00-16:30 CEST
• Waypoint 3: Tuesday, 9 June | 12:30-14:00 CEST
• Waypoint 4: Monday, 15 June | 13:00-14:30 CEST

Further information

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