Private companies are playing an increasingly influential role in how armed forces develop and use artificial intelligence. At a panel discussion at SPUI25 in Amsterdam, experts from civil society, academia and international organisations will examine how to safeguard legal protections and accountability when private actors help shape military systems.
Companies contribute to military technology in many ways. They develop artificial intelligence tools to support military decision-making decisions, provide cloud computing and platform services, and may work alongside armed forces. Investment and partnerships between industry and governments also influence which technologies are developed and how militaries use them.
These relationships raise questions about responsibility and protection under international law: the rules that govern armed conflict and seek to protect people affected by war. When private companies help design or provide military systems, their choices can influence how those systems are used. The panel will consider how legal protections and accountability can be maintained throughout a system’s lifecycle, from development to operational use.
Read more
The discussion builds on recent publications examining the growing role of technology companies in developing military artificial intelligence applications:
‘When algorithms go to war: Tech giants, the arms industry and the weaponisation of AI' by Pax for Peace and Privacy International
‘Industry development of military AI: Operationalising international humanitarian law across the lifecycle’ by Taylor Kate Woodcock
‘The military AI industry’s involvement in armed conflict: Implications under international humanitarian law’ by Laura Bruun and Marta Bo
Contact: Taylor Kate Woodcock, t.woodcock@asser.nl
Event details
- Date: Tuesday 1 December 2026
- Time: 5.00 pm
- Venue: SPUI25, Amsterdam
- Partners: University of Amsterdam and Pax for Peace
Confirmed speakers:
- Prof Dr Marion Ho-Dac (Moderator)
- Edward Madziwa is an International Law and Global Affairs Specialist currently working at the intersection of international peace and security with new and emerging technologies as a Programme Assistant with the Security and Technology Programme at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in Geneva. At UNIDIR, he has co-authored work on neurotechnologies in the military domain, examining their implications for international law and for international peace and security, as well as guidelines on the development of national artificial intelligence (AI) strategies in security and defence. He has previously worked with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Humanitarian Law Centre. Edward holds an LLB, an LLM in Constitutional and Human Rights Law from Midlands State University, and an LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights from the Geneva Academy. In 2023, he was co-awarded the prestigious Henry Dunant Prize for Research for his thesis titled, “Advancing honour and dignity in death for victims of armed conflict: exploring the challenges and opportunities of AI and machine learning in humanitarian forensic action under IHL”. He is a registered Legal Practitioner, Conveyancer, and Notary Public of the High Court and Superior Courts of Zimbabwe.
- Frank Slijper is an economist who has worked on issues related to arms export control, the arms industry and military technology for more than 30 years. At Dutch peace organisation PAX he combines advocacy and research to feed discussions on an international (ATT, CCW) as well as national level. In the margins of the informal UN discussions on AI in the Military Domain, PAX and Privacy International launched their report ‘When algorithms go to war - Tech giants, the arms industry and the weaponisation of AI’.
- Dr Taylor Kate Woodcock is a researcher in public international law at the T.M.C. Asser Instituut in The Hague and the University of Amsterdam. She has expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) in the military domain and international humanitarian law, with a particular focus on targeting, human-machine interaction, and the role of the private sector in developing military technologies. Her PhD thesis, Human-Machine (Learning) Interactions: War and Law in the AI Era, examined how the habitual and institutionalised use of AI-enabled decision-support systems shapes the exercise of human agency in targeting law assessments in military operations, being conducted in the context of the research project Designing International Law and Ethics into Military Artificial Intelligence (DILEMA), funded by the NWO–MVI Programme on Responsible Innovation (2020–2024). Her broader expertise spans international humanitarian law, arms control law, human rights law, and international criminal law. Her recent research examines the role of the private sector in developing and supplying military applications of AI and the responsibilities of states under international law for the governance, development, procurement, and use of these technologies. Taylor is also the Managing Editor of the Netherlands Yearbook of International Law and a Fellow at the Amsterdam Center for Criminal Justice.
