The militarisation of technology: privatised surveillance and security
Technologies originally developed for civilian markets are increasingly integrated into security, policing, border and military operations, while innovations emerging from military and security contexts are also repurposed for civilian applications.
This wave of militarisation of tech, driven by private firms, raises important questions for oversight, procurement and data governance.
It is important to examine the implications of this wave of militarisation of tech currently shaping the technological landscape. These developments are happening quickly. They threaten human rights and undermine the democratic oversight of security provision when deployed without robust safeguards. In response, we need to revisit and strengthen procurement standards, private surveillance oversight, and data governance.
Addressing these challenges requires an interdisciplinary approach, if we are to ensure that advances in tech do not dangerously outpace our monitoring and regulatory capacities This session will explore different facets of the complex socio-technical ecosystem of militarising technologies, with a focus on surveillance and security, by:
- Providing key insights from Latin America, Southwest Asia, North and Sub-Saharan Africa on how technologies and surveillance affect security governance
- Highlighting current best practices in addressing surveillance-related accountability gaps
- Identifying pathways toward more coherent and inclusive surveillance governance.