HOW and
THEORY OF
CHANGE
Broker of Interfaces &
Ecosystem Outreach & Education:
Bonsai serves as a hub for information and analysis concerning AI technologies and their impact on international peace and security. The organization plays a crucial role in fostering collaboration, coordination, and trust between governments globally, both in the Global North and Global South. Bonsai is recognized as a key player in New York and Dubai, specializing in AI’s responsible use and deployment in ways that safeguard world peace while capitalizing on the opportunities AI tech presents. We capacitate and upskill policymakers and AI developers with better understanding of each other’s domains, leading to certifications and licensing, ultimately contributing to growing international cooperation at the intersections of AI and global peace and security.
- Bonsai is a resource of information and analysis towards a growing understanding of the issues surrounding AI technologies and their applications and implications for international peace and security and related policy making. Bonsai engages and helps raise awareness among the diplomatic corps in New York, in particular members of the UN Security Council; both permanent and elected members. We also seek to engage with regional intergovernmental bodies, such as G20 (which is inclusive of both G7 and BRICS), AU, ASEAN, OAS, EU, etc.
- Bonsai helps broker and facilitate interfaces, exchanges, coordination, collaboration, confidence-building, and greater trust between governments, especially those leading in the AI domains (e.g. US, China, India, Russia, Germany, UK, Canada, France, Israel, etc.). Bonsai also works with governments of developing nations in the area of digital/data sovereignty with implications for diminishing political and national sovereignty.
- Bonsai is the go-to organization in New York and Dubai on the subject of AI and global peace and security, global policy and advocacy, responsible use and deployment of AI in respective national security agendas and doctrine.
Convenor and Catalyst of
Knowledge & Learning:
- We contribute to growing understanding of AI and its implications and applications for international peace and security (IPS) among diplomatic and policy constituencies in New York, Dubai and other global and regional centers of influence and decision making.
- We are a leading convener on the sets of topics regarding AI technology, defense, security, peace, data sovereignty, weaponization of media, and related themes and topics.
- Bonsai convenes and co-convenes frequently and intentionally with select strategic and though-leading partners in the technology, research and policy domains, be they from the private or public sector, in the process leveraging best thinking, knowledge and competencies on related subjects.
- We will be mapping out dynamics, developments and constellations within the broader ecosystem (e.g. which private sector entities partner in whatever way with public sector entities, academia or military industrial sectors).
Prioritize:
Our goal is to distill the outcomes of our community-building initiatives into a cohesive and practical framework that guides research and informs policy development. While recognizing that the global landscape is dynamic and priorities may shift over time, we aim to initiate discussions and advocacy efforts centered on the following key areas:
- AI’s Role in Weapons Development, National Security Strategy, and Military Doctrine
- Digital Sovereignty
- AI’s Connection to the Weaponization of “Deepfake” & Synthetic Media and Communications
As the global situation evolves, we anticipate adapting our focus to reflect emerging challenges and opportunities in these crucial domains.
We seek to crystallize the results of the community building efforts into a coherent and actionable set of priorities for research and policy formation. As time goes by, the global situation will change and the relative importance will evolve, but from the start we expect to focus conversation and advocacy around:
- Data and Model Sovereignty
- AI in Weapons Development, National Security Strategy and Military Doctrine
- AI in relation to the Weaponization of “Deepfake” & Synthetic Media and Comms
Policy Advocate and Influencer:
Bonsai actively engages in shaping international policy and decision-making by elevating the discourse on AI to prominent global platforms, with a particular focus on influential bodies like the UN Security Council (UNSC) and the G20. We serve as both influencers and advocates, emphasizing the responsible use and deployment of AI technologies within the defense, large weapons production and military domains, with a keen awareness of their implications for international peace and security (IPS).
Our efforts are directed towards incorporating AI-related themes into the agendas and priorities of the UNSC and G20, strategically addressing the intersection of AI and global peace and security. We aim to formalize the Council’s acknowledgment of this critical nexus by working towards the establishment of a dedicated and permanent “UNSC working group on AI & IPS.” Additionally, we will actively seek to facilitate sponsorship of “open debates” on the subject by UNSC members and capitalize on the “Arria Formula” mechanism for formal engagements between UNSC and the private sector, civil society, NGOs, academia, and more. Similar engagement strategies are used for advocacy and influence with the G20, via the rotating annual chairmanship of respective G20 members.
Bonsai advocates and influences multilaterally and bilaterally within the governmental domain, whose mandate is policy and normative frameworks, as well as with the corporate sector, which leads the development and advancement of AI technologies.
- Bonsai brings the topics of AI to the heart of international policy and decision making, and especially at the pinnacle of global diplomacy, with the UN Security Council and the G20 being of particular interest and prime targets and interlocutors for influence and policy formation.
- We are an influencer and advocate for responsible use and deployment of AI capabilities and technologies by governments in their defense and military, with considerations for international peace and security.
- Bonsai works towards UN Security Council’s uptake of the themes and issues at the nexus between AI and international peace and security upon the Council’s agenda; the topics related to the nexus and linkages between the Council’s mandate to “maintain international peace and security” and AI with all of its possibilities, unknowns and risks.
- We work with the UN Security Council towards formalizing the relevance of the topic for its agenda by establishing, in due course, a “working group on AI & IPS,” sponsoring “open debates” on the subject(s), including Arria Formula meetings with non-member interlocutors from the private sector, civil society, NGOs, academia, etc.
Support our efforts
