Press Release
Date: 24 October 2024
Event #TheSpiritofGeneva: The Impact of AI on International Humanitarian Law
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Convention, the Swiss Embassy to the Holy See and the Swiss Embassy in Italy, in collaboration with the Pontifical Gregorian University, is organizing the conference #TheSpiritofGeneva: The Impact of AI on International Humanitarian Law. During the day, numerous experts will engage in interdisciplinary discussion on the role of the new technologies in armed conflicts, exploring in particular the consequent opportunities and risks for respect of the Geneva Conventions.
The growing digitalization and the use of artificial intelligence in armed conflicts raise several questions for international humanitarian law. This coming 7 November, the Swiss Embassies to the Holy See and Italy, in collaboration with the Pontifical Gregorian University, have therefore decided to hold the conference #TheSpiritofGeneva: The Impact of AI on International Humanitarian Law, to reflect on the consequent challenges, risks and opportunities. Starting at 9.30 in the Great Hall of the Pontifical Gregorian University, numerous high-level experts will discuss the theme. In a global context marked by numerous armed conflicts causing great suffering, the respect, promotion and strengthening of the Geneva Conventions are more topical than ever. The aim of the conference is to demonstrate that, 75 years after their adoption, the Geneva Conventions maintain their relevance.
Programme
The Secretary of State of the Holy See, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, will speak during the institutional greetings, together with the rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University, Fr. Mark A. Lewis, S.J., the Ambassador of Switzerland to the Holy See, Manuela Leimgruber, and the Ambassador of Switzerland in Italy, Monika Schutz Kirgôz.
Numerous experts from various universities and academies, international organizations and institutions, and the Italian armed forces, will then discuss the theme (details in the attached programme). Representing the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport will be Lieutenant Colonel Laurence Boillat, Defence Attaché of the Swiss Armed Forces in Rome.
Panel 1:
Dr. Giacomo Persi Paoli, head of the “Security and Technology” programme at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), Dr. Jean-Marc Rickli, head of the “Global and Emerging Risks” programme and founder and director of the Polymath initiative at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), and Professor Dominique Lambert, professor at the University of Namur, Belgium, with the moderation of Mr. Paolo Rodari, journalist at the Italian language Swiss radio-television station RSI, will explore the use of artificial intelligence systems (including autonomous weapons systems) in situations of armed conflict, focusing in particular on the challenges and risks these involve.
Panel 2:
Colonel Sebastiano La Piscopía, Senior Officer Attaché to the Military Prosecutor at the Italian Supreme Court of Cassation, Major Barbara Scolart, Member of the Sanremo Institute of International Humanitarian Law, and Ms. Julie Tenenbaum, Legal Advisor for the Europe Region at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with the moderation of Professor Peter G. Kirchschläger, University of Lucerne, will discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on international humanitarian law, focusing in particular on issues relating to decision-making and liability in the event of violations of international humanitarian law by autonomous systems.
Panel 3:
To conclude, Mr. Philippe Stoll, Senior Techplomacy Delegate at the ICRC, Ms. Federica Du Pasquier, staff member of the independent foundation Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA) and Dr. Nicola Venturi, Project Manager at the Competence Centre for AI and Simulation at the Federal Department of Defence, Population Protection and Sport of the Swiss Confederation, with the moderation of Ms Katharina Frey, Deputy Head of the Digital Foreign Policy Division at the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation, will present the latest AI innovations in the humanitarian field and reflect on the opportunities they offer for the protection of civilians in armed conflict zones.
The individual interventions from Professor Joachim von Braun, president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and Professor Paolo Benanti, Pontifical Gregorian University, will contribute to completing the discussion, bringing respectively a scientific and ethical perspective.
The day will conclude at approximately 16.30. The event will be livestreamed on the YouTube channel of the Pontifical Gregorian University. The interventions will be in Italian and English, with simultaneous translation offered only in the hall. Participation in person for for members of the press will be possible only via accreditation.
Accreditation procedure: Journalists and media operators who wish to participate must apply, no later than 24 hours before the event, via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system at press.vatican.va/accreditamenti.
For further information: Elias Bouhia, Embassy of Switzerland in Italy, elias.bouhia@eda.admin.ch, *39 068 095 7342
