Agenda

Registration (Europasaal, Federal Foreign Office)

Opening address

AI: A new dimension of threats from weapons of mass destruction?
Günter Sautter, Director-General for International Order, the United Nations and Arms Control of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin

Keynote address

H.E. Fernando Arias, Director-General, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, The Hague

1st Panel discussion

“Killer AI” and chemical weapons development: How real is the risk? Panel followed by Q & A, moderated by Filippa Lentzos, Reader in Science & International Security, King’s College London

Speakers

1. The challenge: Marc-Michael Blum, former OPCW Head of Laboratory, Hamburg
2. Technical assessment: Gisbert Schneider, Professor, Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich
3. How the OPCW could adapt: Stefan Mogl, Deputy Head, Spiez Laboratory

Coffee Break

2nd Panel discussion

AI and synthetic biology: A new generation of biological weapons in the making? Panel followed by Q & A, moderated by Filippa Lentzos, Reader in Science & International Security, King’s College London

Speakers

1. The Challenge: Roman Wölfel, Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Munich
2. New approaches towards biological risk reduction: Nicole Wheeler, Research Fellow, University of Birmingham
3. Consequences for BW arms control: James Revill, Space Security and WMD Head of Program, UNIDIR, Geneva

Lunch Break

3rd Panel discussion

Nuclear weapons and AI: dangers for nuclear decision-making? Panel followed by Q & A, moderated by Anja Dahlmann, Director of Berlin Office, Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitspolitik der Universität Hamburg (IFSH), Berlin

Speakers

1. Alex Bell, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Arms Control, Deterrence, and Stability, U.S. Department of State, Washington D.C.
2. Sylvia Mishra, Deputy Director of Nuclear Policy, Institute for Security and Technology, Washington D.C.
3. Alice Saltini, Policy Fellow, European Leadership Network, London
4. Wilfred Wan, WMD Program Director, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Stockholm

Coffee Break

Results, conclusions and perspectives

Results from panels and outlook on future risks, challenges and opportunities Moderator: Susanne Riegraf, Deputy Federal Commissioner for Disarmament, Arms Control and Nonproliferation of the Federal Foreign Office, Berlin

Speakers