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What Is Dual-Use?

― What Is Dual-Use? Technology is always born with two faces―We all use facial recognition technology to unlock our smartphones every day.Its original purpose was simple: to protect a lost phone and make user authentication more convenient.But what happens when the same technology is installed in a drone?A convenient security technology can suddenly become a technology that identifies someone, tracks them, and selects them as a target for attack.Even at this very moment, military research labs around the world are developing weapons that use the same AI technology to recognize human faces and automatically track targets.With the very same technology we use every day.This is the core of what the international community calls “dual-use.”Technology is born with two faces.One face helps humanity.The other can harm it.Fire, chemistry, nuclear power, the internet, and now artificial intelligence — humanity’s greatest inventions have always walked the line between these two faces.And now, standing before the technology of artificial intelligence, the world has once again arrived at a major crossroads.― “Dual-Use” Is an Official Concept in the International Community Dual-use items as defined by the European Union―The European Union (EU) defines dual-use items as follows: “Goods, software and technology that can be used for both civilian and military applications.”— European Union (EU), Definition of Dual-Use Items Put simply, it means this:Looking at the Two Faces of Dual-Use Technology Drones Parcel delivery Military attacks AI Medical diagnosis Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems Satellite Technology Weather observation Military reconnaissance Chemical Technology Fertilizer production Production of toxic gas ▲ The same technology can be used for both civilian purposes, shown in green, and military purposes, shown in orange.Not many technologies are born as weapons from the very beginning.Most advanced technologies first emerge to help people.But over time, almost without exception, they also begin to be used in the military field.The boundary between “technology for humanity” and “technology for war” is much thinner than we might think.The international community has already learned this lesson many times and often at great cost.[Video in preparation]▲ This is a short video introducing dual-use technology.Source: Sunhak Peace Prize Official YouTube Channel― When Light Became a Weapon: The Paradox of Nuclear Power The Manhattan Project, Hiroshima, and the NPT―In the early 20th century, scientists discovered that enormous energy was hidden inside the atom.Einstein’s equation, E=mc², proved that possibility in mathematical form. It meant that even a tiny amount of mass could be transformed into unimaginable energy.At first, nuclear power was seen as a technology that could provide humanity with a new source of energy. It carried the hope that it might free humanity from the limits of coal and oil.But when the Second World War began, the situation changed completely.Through the United States’ Manhattan Project, the atomic bomb was developed and dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.The two cities suffered devastating destruction.A technology that was once expected to become a light for humanity became a weapon that threatened humanity itself.After this event, the international community came to accept an important truth.As important as technological progress itself is the question of how far that technology should be allowed to go — and how it should be controlled.As a result, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was born.Even with the same nuclear technology, depending on how it is used, it can become either a power plant or a weapon that wipes out a city.― The Technology That Fed Humanity Began to Suffocate It The Haber-Bosch process and the paradox of chemical weapons―The chemist Fritz Haber is recognized as a scientist who made a major contribution to solving humanity’s food problem.In the early 20th century, the world was facing severe food shortages. There simply was not enough fertilizer to grow crops.Haber developed the Haber-Bosch process, which made it possible to mass-produce ammonia from nitrogen in the air. This technology revolutionized fertilizer production.Thanks to it, countless people were able to escape hunger.But when the First World War began, the situation changed.The technology used to produce ammonia was repurposed for explosives and poison gas. Haber himself even became involved in the development of poison gas. At the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915, chlorine gas was used in an attack, and soldiers suffocated in agony as their lungs burned.A technology that had fed humanity became a weapon that suffocated humanity. Afterward, the international community created the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).But tragically, rules have often been made only after tragedy has already occurred.― The Network Built to Connect Us Became a Battlefield From ARPANET to cyberwarfare: the paradox of the internet―The internet is considered one of the most successful dual-use technologies in human history.In fact, the internet began from a military need.In the 1960s, the U.S. Department of Defense developed ARPANET to create a communication network that could continue operating even in the event of nuclear war. This became the beginning of today’s internet.But once the internet was opened to civilian use, it brought about an information revolution.People became able to communicate faster, share knowledge, and cooperate across borders.And yet, today we are living through another phase.Cyberwarfare between states, hacking attacks, AI-powered fake news...The network that expanded to connect the world has now become a new battlefield shaking global security.The Time It Took for Norms to Emerge After Technology Became a Weapon Nuclear Power — Hiroshima (1945) → NPT (1968) 23years Chemical Weapons — Ypres (1915) → CWC (1993) 78years AI Autonomous Weapons — Discussions began (2014) → Present day (2026) Ongoing for 12 years, with no binding international norms yet― Why AI’s Dual-Use Nature Is Drawing Special Attention AI drones spreading across the battlefields of Ukraine and Gaza―Why is the international community paying special attention to AI?AI is being used to make our lives more convenient — diagnosing cancer, predicting disasters, and helping students learn.But the same AI can also be used in the military field. It can identify targets, move drones autonomously, and analyze battlefield information.In particular, AI is sparking a new level of debate compared with previous dual-use technologies because it is not merely a tool. It can analyze information and assist with decision-making.These concerns are no longer hypothetical.In the Russia-Ukraine war, drones equipped with AI technology and automated target-identification systems are spreading rapidly.Missions that once required state-level weapons systems are now beginning to be carried out by relatively inexpensive drones.The bigger problem is accessibility.Developing nuclear weapons requires enormous capital and state-scale facilities.AI does not.Today, with open-source AI models and commercial drones, it is already possible to experiment with fairly advanced autonomous systems.When powerful technology that anyone can access is used for military purposes, humanity can enter a new arms race faster than ever before.This is exactly why the international community is paying close attention to AI.― What Is the Problem with AI Autonomous Weapons? Three concerns raised by the United Nations―This is why the international community has begun to view AI not simply as a technological issue, but as an issue of human rights and security. In its 2024 report, “「Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems」,” the United Nations raised several important concerns. These can be summarized into three key points. Three Major Concerns About AI Autonomous Weapons Raised by the United Nations ① Judgment : Can AI truly understand complex situations the way humans do — such as a child holding a toy gun, or combat taking place near a hospital? ② Accountability : If a mistaken strike occurs, who should be held responsible — the developer, the commander, the state, or the algorithm? ③ The Threshold for War : If casualties among a country’s own soldiers decrease, could leaders become more likely to choose war?  ▲ United Nations, “Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems” (2024)International humanitarian law requires that civilians and combatants be distinguished even during war.But in situations that are difficult even for humans to judge, is it acceptable for machines to make life-and-death decisions?The international community says no.If an AI weapon mistakenly strikes civilians, who should be held responsible?The United Nations warns that “the AI made that decision” cannot serve as accountability, because international law ultimately holds humans responsible.In past wars, states had to accept the possibility of casualties among their own soldiers.But if autonomous drones and AI weapons become widespread, the situation changes.If humans no longer have to enter the battlefield directly, could political leaders become more willing to choose military action?This is not a story from the distant future.― Meaningful Human Control Is Not Just a Technical Issue, but a Matter of Principle What is Meaningful Human Control?―These concerns are not abstract assumptions.In 2025, the United Nations Human Rights Council Advisory Committee warned in its report, “Human Rights Implications of New and Emerging Technologies in the Military Domain,” that autonomous weapon systems and AI-based military technologies could weaken the principles of human control and accountability.The report pointed out that AI systems operating without human oversight ultimately leave behind one critical question:“Who will be held responsible?”So what is the solution?The answer proposed by the international community is Meaningful Human Control. ① Humans must understand the context of an attack.② Humans must make the final decision.③ Humans must be able to intervene or stop the system at any time.④ If something goes wrong, humans and states must be held responsible. In the end, the core principle is simple:Decisions that take human life must never be fully handed over to machines.This is not merely a technical safeguard. It is based on a legal and ethical principle under international law: the final responsibility for life-and-death decisions must remain with human beings.― Can We Create Rules Before Technology Moves Ahead? Norms before tragedy, not after tragedy―Looking back, humanity has repeated a similar experience again and again.After the atomic bomb appeared, we created nuclear norms.After chemical weapons were used, we created the Chemical Weapons Convention.Technology always came first.Rules came later.Now, as we live in the age of AI, we stand before the same question.Will we once again create rules only after tragedy occurs?Or can we, for the first time, create norms before technology moves ahead?. . .In the end, the problem is not AI itself.Technology is always born with two faces.Which face it is allowed to show is ultimately up to human beings.Written by Sharon Choi Director of PlanningSunhak Peace Prize Secretariat  Further ReadingsWhat Are AI Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS)?What Is Human-Centered AI? References & Sources1. European Commission, Exporting Dual-Use Items 2. United Nations, Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (2024)3. UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, Human Rights Implications of New and Emerging Technologies in the Military Domain4. International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Autonomous Weapon Systems5. Human Rights Watch, UN: Start Talks on Treaty to Ban Killer Robots (2025)6. UN News, António Guterres calls autonomous weapons \"politically unacceptable and morally repugnant\" (2025)7. Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel Banquet Speech (2024) 8. The Guardian, AI\'s Oppenheimer moment: autonomous weapons enter the battlefield (2024)9. Stop Killer Robots Campaign, Closing Statement to the UN GGE on LAWS10. United Nations CCW GGE, Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems