Open letter: CSOs urge the Dutch government to immediately establish a moratorium on developing AI systems in the military domain

In light of the Responsible AI for the Military Domain Summit (REAIM) held by the Dutch Government on the 15-16th February 2023, ECNL and 8 other organisations have signed an open letter directed to government. Initiated by Oumaima Hajri and co-drafted by ECNL and Racism and Technology Center, the letter calls on the Dutch Government to focus on the harm that the militarisation of AI will disproportionately cause historically marginalised communities, rather than the narrative of "innovation".

ECNL, along with Article 36, Vredesorganisatie PAX, Bits of Freedom, Waag Futurelab, Controle Alt Delete, Privacy First and European Network Against Racism ask the Dutch Government to: 

1. Commit to a moratorium on developing military AI systems until the government has established robust human rights impact management systems and implements clear policies.
2. Place advocacy efforts to establish international laws that regulate these developments; clarify exact scope and implications of “military purposes” in Art. 2 of the proposed EU Council position on the EU AI Act; eliminate the reference to “national security purposes” from the exemptions.
3. Put human rights at the centre, by actively consulting civil society, human rights groups, experts and marginalised communities that engage with and/or are affected by developments in the subject matter.

To read the full open letter, click here.