Conference: 'Investigating the Kill Cloud'

In November 2024, the ‘Investigating the Kill Cloud’ conference in Berlin brought together a wide range of academics, activists, practitioners and whistleblowers to discuss and critically assess the impact of AI and data-driven technologies on the wars of today and tomorrow.

Berlin, Germany

November 28, 2024

In November 2024, the ‘Investigating the Kill Cloud’ conference in Berlin brought together a wide range of academics, activists, practitioners and whistleblowers to discuss and critically assess the impact of AI and data-driven technologies on the wars of today and tomorrow. Organized by the Disruption Network Lab (DNL) in celebration of its 10th anniversary, the three-day event provided a thought-provoking space to explore related issues from various perspectives.

The first day kicked off with two powerful keynotes on whistleblowing in data-centric warfare, followed by an intriguing lecture performance and a panel in which the DNL’s four fellows presented their highly relevant reports. At the start of the second day PLATFORM WARS’ PI Marijn Hoijtink was part of a panel on the materialities and logics of military AI-driven human-machine assemblages, in which she presented our project, unpacked the notion and proliferation of (military) platforms and highlighted the necessity to critically evaluate associated promises of “transparency” or “accuracy”. Following two presentations on the psychological effects of aerial warfare and surveillance, the public part of the event ended with an intense panel on the effects of automated surveillance and targeted killings in Gaza.

On the final day, all experts came together at a round table to discuss political, legal, and ethical challenges but also potential ways forward. We are grateful to have taken part in this stimulating event and recommend everyone to re-watch the inspiring panels and presentations here

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