By Jesinta Adams
Yet another exciting session of the ‘Understanding AI Program’ presented by the Silkroad 4.0 Platform, the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES), European Perspectives, through the forthcoming Global Academy for Geo-politico-tech Futures (GPTF), and their consortium of partners (such as the D-8, ICCD, IAF, THC, Diplomatic Academy, Diplomatic Magazine, and the like), turned the focus on how AI is reshaping global security, defence strategies, and geopolitical power dynamics. This round of mesmerising and farfetched talks, under the theme of “Defensive Modernisation as the Technology Driver”, offered timely and insightful exchanges that bridged military innovation with ethical, legal, and global implications.
The 3rd round of mesmerising lectures explored various critical themes: how human presence-eliminating technologies are altering security doctrines, the geopolitical implications of multi-spatial tech reach, and the legal and ethical challenges in regulating AI across borders. Other discussion points included sovereignty and security in the digital age, the role of AI in major military confrontation theatres, and the urgent need for global governance frameworks to manage this transformation.
The first keynote guest, Ambassador Ali Goutali, of the Jeddah-based OIC, brought a diplomatic and scholarly lens to the conversation. With over two decades of ambassadorial service and a strong academic background, Ambassador Goutali reminded us of the dual nature of AI. He described AI as a force of promise — for knowledge-sharing among nations, early warning systems for pandemics, and enhanced surveillance — but also one of equal risk. Ambassador warned that AI, if unchecked, could dismantle governments and destabilise wisdom-based governance.
This top MENA diplomat from Tunisia called for the establishment of global conventions on AI use, similar to the Geneva Conventions, to protect humanity and maintain ethical boundaries. His conclusion was clear: more member states must actively engage in AI protocols to prevent future misuse.
Multi-spatial and multidimensional nature of future wars
In the second keynote, former Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Croatia Admiral Davor Domazet-Lošo shared his insights on evolving military doctrines. A former combat commander, and later prolific author on military strategy, Admiral Domazet-Lošo explored the rise of information warfare. He warned that such warfare blocks a person’s ability to think independently — an effect that can be seen even among world leaders. He cited China’s AI capabilities as being significantly ahead of the United States and spoke of China’s “deep seek” AI system, which, in his words, embodies the true potential of artificial intelligence. He emphasised that AI-driven military strategy is now operating in hyper-real time, reducing detection and response time from one hour to mere seconds (doctrines of real time shifting to the network doctrines of hyper-real time). The goal for all militaries, he suggested, is to discover, decide, and destroy — faster than ever before.
Hyper-real time warfare naturally blurs the boundary between perception and action, where information dominance and computational speed become as critical as kinetic force. This doctrine will surely raise significant ethical, legal, and strategic challenges, including concerns over human oversight, escalatory dynamics and de-escalatory potentials, false data entries and accuracy and speed of mistake detection and correction – hence an entire reliability of real-time data streams.
Based on his previous exchanges (on the trajectory of Asian security) with the ‘Understanding AI’ program originator, prof. Anis H. Bajrektarevic, Admiral Lošo singled out the military theatre more neuralgic than the current ones in Eastern Europe and in the Middle East: “The hyper real-time potential of combat in Indo-Pacific, so packed with mega-demographies and mega-economies, hence projection drives is possible yet still avoidable. It would be a sobering study in technological velocity and strategic ambiguity to analyse every perspective thoroughly. Unlike the Adriatic or even Mediterranean, where engagements are relatively constrained by geography and proximities of all sorts, the Indo-Pacific – especially Malacca Straits and South China Sea – is a volatile mesh of overlapping claims, promising yet imperfect unmanned systems, (inadequately tested) hypersonic threats, and AI-driven targeting loops.
In such an environment – including the inner seas of archipelagic states of Indonesia and the Philippines, but also Malaysia and VietNam, decision cycles will be compressed to seconds, not hours, with autonomous swarms and satellite-linked ISR platforms dictating the tempo. As a former Chief-of Staff, admiral and combat army officer of a historic naval country (right between Ancient Greece and Roman Empire, Phoenicians and Venetians), I would note with high concern how conventional naval doctrine falters when even milliseconds of latency could determine the survivability of a ship—raising critical questions about control, accountability, and escalation in a digitally saturated battlespace where the line between provocation and war is algorithmically blurred.“
Takeaways from Singapore
The main speaker for the session was Lily Ong, a geopolitical and cybersecurity analyst from Singapore. A former Track I and Track II diplomat in the United States, Ong took a brief departure from her attendance at the Global Digital Forum to deliver a compelling presentation on how AI is transforming global power dynamics. She walked us through AI’s military applications — from automated defence systems and predictive analytics to offensive cyber operations and information warfare. Ong emphasised that AI is not only changing how wars are fought but also how power is projected and negotiated. Her talk also explored the ethical and legal questions surrounding AI-enabled warfare, and she challenged us to think about the shifting nature of trust, sovereignty, and responsibility in a hyper-connected world.
One of the most striking moments in her presentation was her response to a participant who asked why countries would pursue such advanced AI capabilities if they introduce greater instability. Her answer was sobering: “The genie is already out of the bag – there’s no putting it back.” Instead, countries — especially those in the Global South — must focus on keeping up, not only to stay relevant but to protect themselves. She stressed that education is key to this transformation and urged the Global South to come to the AI table so that they could contribute to capacity building through education, innovation, and shared expertise.
Ong concluded by accentuating that the new arms race formulated upon technological sovereignty would enable more actors – including smaller states and non-state actors – to shoot above their calibre, introducing a layer of complexity to the AI-enabled warfare environment.
The session closed with a unifying message from all speakers: the urgency for better global protocols, more inclusive international participation, and a deeper emphasis on education. The generational gap was also addressed, with a call for both the tech-fluent younger generation and the cautious older generation to learn about AI risks and opportunities — together. It is no longer an option to retreat – adaptation is imperative.
The third session of the extraordinary Program, unparalleled anyone in the world provided not only deep strategic insights but also a human-centred reflection on the challenges we face as AI advances at breakneck speed. From military use to global governance, the message was consistent: AI is here, and it demands collective oversight and responsibility.
The fascinating and content intensive voyage of knowledge sets its uncharted waters sail. It will reach its next mesmerising port of wisdom and insights on 12th of June by hosting the new round of fascinating keynotes and lecturers.
About the author:
Jesinta Adams is a rising voice in the field of AI operations and data services. She is the Founder of SouthLoop Data Africa, a human-in-the-loop data labelling company focused on providing clean, accurate datasets for AI development while creating opportunities for skilled youth and women in the Global South.
She currently heads the invoice processing division at a US-based tech company, overseeing AI-driven data annotation, validation, and financial automation processes. She is a passionate advocate for digital inclusion, capacity building, and ethical AI.
