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Conflict is a pervasive element in human interactions, spanning organisational, interpersonal, and societal levels. To prevent and resolve conflict, whether minor misunderstandings or large-scale disagreements, governments have established laws and treaties as key mechanisms for maintaining stability. Today, with the rise of AI, the question emerges: Will AI serve as a tool for conflict resolution, fuel discord, or both?
SwissCognitive Guest Blogger: Eleanor Wright, COO at TelWAI – “AI the Peacemaker and Troublemaker: Forging the Future of Conflict Resolution”
Conflict directly and indirectly affects all people globally. From politics to divorce, conflict is costly, damaging, and often so complex that it is never fully resolved. Fuelled by emotions, beliefs, and industries that profit from discord, conflict is both a lucrative enterprise and an inevitable part of human existence.
So, what might the future role of AI in conflict resolution look like?
To explore this question, we may look to law, governance, and diplomacy, all of which involve conflict resolution.
Law, established by governing authorities as a structured system of rules and regulations, serves as a fundamental mechanism for conflict resolution. According to Grand View Research, in 2024 the U.S. legal services market was valued at approximately $360.8 billion, presenting significant opportunities for AI integration. Furthermore, research conducted by the Law Society of England and Wales suggests that of early 2020 roughly half of solicitors in England and Wales were using at least one form of AI-assisted lawtech (Armour et al, 2021).
Poised to reshape research, courtroom presentations, and even judicial rulings, AI holds the potential to disrupt and transform the legal services industry. From streamlining case analysis to enhancing the precision of legal arguments, AI’s integration into the legal system may offer increased efficiency and insight. By utilising AI tools such as ROSS Intelligence, legal firms can quickly analyse historical legal cases and rapidly find relevant case laws. Beyond rapid case law identification, AI will also play a role in finding inconsistencies, crafting arguments, and even presenting cases before the courts. A practice that DoNotPay’s “robot lawyer” tried to implement in 2023 by assisting a defendant in a traffic violation charge, before being cancelled due to state bar officials threatening legal action over its unauthorised practice of law.
By harnessing AI and leveraging its capabilities in automating repetitive tasks we may move towards a future of the lowering of legal fees and the acceleration of court rulings. Likewise, using data analysis and historical precedent to deliver impartial outcomes, AI can free conflict resolution from financial incentives that prolong disputes. Through the adoption of AI, courts may obtain the ability to rapidly review cases, find failings, and even recommend fair and unbiased judgments. Furthermore, by utilising tools such as those developed by Modria, which uses AI to analyse e-commerce disputes, guide negotiations, and suggest settlements, conflict may be resolved before it even requires court involvement.
Beyond legal conflict resolution, AI also offers a powerful tool for those practicing domestic and international diplomatic conflict resolution. For example, Damián Tuset Varela research explores how AI is reshaping diplomatic practices, identifying that “By leveraging AI-driven analytics, diplomats can gain deeper insights into complex geopolitical issues, identify potential areas for cooperation, and optimise diplomatic strategies for greater efficacy” (Varela, 2024).
In diplomatic conflict resolution, AI can be used to gather information, forecast outcomes, find points of dispute, forge agreements, and communicate critical details, once again aiding in the resolution of conflict. Programs such as DARPA’s mediating conflict with AI initiative explores how AI-driven solutions can be used for diplomatic negotiations, and the EU AI Diplomacy Initiative studies AI’s role in shaping geopolitical negotiations and security policy. If designed and implemented without cultural, financial, or strategic bias, AI may offer diplomatic outcomes based purely on fairness rather than power dynamics. Offering an alternative to emotionally and politically driven conflict resolution.
While AI offers extensive capabilities in conflict resolution, it will also serve as a catalyst for conflict. So, what might AI’s future role look like in fuelling conflict?
From deepfakes to falsified evidence and the manipulation of social networks, AI undoubtedly has the power to spark and spread conflict. Imagine the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but enhanced by AI: deepfakes of politicians, fabricated CCTV footage, and the mass creation of highly realistic and convincing AI generated propaganda disseminated to influence public opinion and sow the seeds of conflict. The development of AI systems programmed to amplify conflict for engagement and attention, soley focused on audiance capture and manipulation. When weaponised, AI could disrupt mediation processes and distort resolution efforts. This weaponisation will fundamentally alter how we perceive information, and ironically, AI itself may be our primary tool in combating AI-generated conflict. Through the fortification of media platforms, mass education and exposing AI driven propaganda, governments may be able to extinguish the sparks of conflict before it rages through society.
In conclusion, AI holds significant potential in preventing and reducing the cost of conflict resolution across industry and government. If developed ethically, and perhaps lightly regulated, AI could dramatically alleviate the challenges of conflict and democratise outcomes. However, as always, technology designed for good can also be weaponised for harm. Greater care will be needed in validating and verifying information, and we must never become blind to the reality that AI can be manipulated to manifest and fuel conflict.
About the Author:
About the Author:
Holding a BA in Marketing and an MSc in Business Management, Eleanor Wright has over eleven years of experience working in the surveillance sector across multiple business roles.
Der Beitrag AI the Peacemaker and Troublemaker: Forging the Future of Conflict Resolution erschien zuerst auf SwissCognitive | AI Ventures, Advisory & Research.
