Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the defining technological trend of our time, with many consequences that are not yet fully understood in and for many areas of life, but also of particular relevance to the field of peace and security policy. New technologies, such as the development of AI, play a key role in this regard, both economically and in terms of peace and security policy. Against the backdrop of international and national debates on the implications of the introduction and use of AI, its consequences for peace and security are not being discussed sufficiently. Here, it is particularly important to bring together scientific expertise and representatives from academia, politics, the military, and internal security to exchange and discuss potential solutions for national resilience and confidence-building.
The aim of the one-and-a-half-day conference was to highlight particularly relevant connections between geo-economic changes and the actual potential of AI based on the current state of application and foreseeable future uses, and to discuss consequences and potential proposals.

In the current situation, policymakers and researchers face a particular challenge: to gain a comprehensive, state-of-the-art understanding of future technological developments and the implications of further AI advancements, and to propose and implement actionable measures to enhance resilience and security preparedness. The conference therefore centers on security policy aspects of AI deployment and focuses on the question of what responsibility the state, the private sector, and academia bear in securing peace and freedom in Europe in the future.
Scientists and their institutions have been successfully engaged in this work for many years—often far from the public eye. Based on decades of experience, there is hope that “politics” will listen more closely to “science.” On the other hand, it is also a matter of making scientific expertise in the fields of foreign and security policy as well as technological development more directly usable for society, the security sector, and the economy than has been the case to date, in order to play an active role in countering threats and finding constructive, security-relevant solutions.

The two-day conference was organized and conducted by two study groups of the Association of German Scientists (VDW) in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The VDW study group “Digitalization and Technology Assessment” had just published a new book on the topic of AI in open access format.
The VDW (www.vdw-ev.de) was founded in 1959 as a spin-off from the DPG by the initiators of the “Göttingen Declaration” (1957) against the nuclear armament of Germany. At its core lies the question of science’s responsibility for shaping the future. The Association of German Scientists (VDW) brings together researchers from all academic disciplines who critically reflect on their responsibility for the consequences of scientific research and technological development and who actively participate in public discourse—particularly in the areas of peace, climate, biodiversity, and the economy—by contributing their specialized expertise. The VDW study group “Peace and European Security” meets regularly. Members of the Young VDW are also involved in this group. It also serves as the link to the “Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs,” which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 and where scientists and diplomats engage in international dialogue. On November 13 and 14, 2025, the VDW’s academic conference “Peace and Security in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” took place at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation’s premises in Berlin. The conference addressed the current challenges posed by security-relevant applications of AI for the resilience and capabilities of civilian, infrastructure-critical, and military structures in Germany, as well as security and peace policy implications in Europe. In addition to presentations by high-ranking experts from the security sector and the fields of peace and conflict research, parallel workshops were held to foster networking and deepen understanding of the topic, and the proposals were put up for discussion in the plenary session.