All About Dual Use Technologies
Dedipyaman Shukla
A common phrase closely tied to policy discourse surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) regulation is its categorisation as a dual use technology. This phrase can refer to any technology, equipment, or knowledge that has both civilian and military applications. Simply put, some new innovations or technologies can be utilised for peaceful purposes including scientific research, industrial production, or healthcare delivery, but may also carry the potential for being repurposed towards military applications, such as weapons development.
One of the earliest explicit attempt to regulate a ‘dual use’ technology was the initiative of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), which was established in 1974 to control the export of nuclear material by supplier countries. While civilian applications of nuclear as a ‘relatively clean’ source of energy were appreciated, the transfer of nuclear fuel or fissile material carried major risks, if it were to fall into the wrong hands and used for enrichment to create a nuclear bomb. The NSG and sought to establish guidelines for nuclear exports to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation, while enabling civilian power-generation using this technology.
This post was originally published on the Substack and can be accessed here.