Next month, Lauren Gould will convene the interdisciplinary panel ‘ Algorithmic Violence and Responsibility: Innovation, Deployment, and Impact’ at the 18th Pan-European Conference (PEC) on International Relations, hosted by the European International Studies Association (EISA) in Bologna, Italy.
Taking place on Wednesday, 27 August 2025 from 14:00 to 15:30 CEST at the Palazzo Hercolani in Aula Seminari, the panel brings together critical perspectives on “responsibility” in the context of algorithmic warfare. The panel features contributions from Prof. dr. Elke Schwarz, Prof. dr. Ingvild Bode, dr. Anna Nadibaidze, Sofie van der Maarel (PhD candidate), Fer Avar (PhD candidate), Martine Jaarsma (PhD candidate), and Linde Arentze (PhD candidate).
Although the term “responsible AI” is frequently invoked in public and policy discourse, it often functions as a rhetorical shield—obscuring rather than confronting the profound ethical, political, and legal challenges these technologies pose. This panel asks: what does responsibility truly mean when algorithms become instruments of violence?
In answering this question, contributors are invited to explore the entangled systems of power—spanning military, industrial, and academic domains—that shape the development and deployment of algorithmic technologies, to foreground the lived experiences and rights of those most affected by these systems, and how to ensure meaningful accountability for the harms produced with these systems.
For more information on the panel and its contributors, consult the PEC programme.
