Effective Use of New Technologies
Technology has always been an important vector of peace operations reform, and several initiatives are under way to harness new technologies to improve the effectiveness of peace operations, including through the digital transformation strategy for peacekeeping operations.
- Improved Mandate Implementation: New technologies will undoubtedly improve mandate implementation, enhance situational awareness, improve safety and security of personnelandcounter mis-and disinformation. Unmanned aerial vehicles have the potential to patrol long or inaccessible borders, or ceasefire lines, in support of peace operations and operational planning and execution ought to be data-driven to a much higher degree.
- Mitigating Negative Impacts of Data Bias and Exclusion: Technology can be a doubleedged sword; although it can help improve the effectiveness ofpeace operations, it also has the potential to undermine peace operations if misused. Asymmetric dominance of a limited number of artificial intelligence platforms has the potential to introduce bias in data inputs, reasoning processes and prescriptive outputs and must therefore be thoughtfully engineered. Appropriate safeguards are required to ensure the ethical use of new technologies as well as tomitigate the unintended risks to populations resulting from the misuse of collected data.
- Capacity-building: Effective and ethical use of new technologies in peace operations requires investment to ensure that UN’s staff members, as well as troop, police and resource contributing countries, have the requisite skillsets and expertise on data, digital technologies and the use of artificial intelligence. Peace operations should also support local capacity-building efforts that could, inter alia, increase resilience against mis- and disinformation.