Episode 7. The Algorithmic Kill Chain: Dr. Lauren Gould on Data, Death and Deployment of AI in Warfare

In this episode, host Tamim Asey sits down with Associate Professor Lauren Gould, a leading scholar of conflict studies at Utrecht University. She is the Project Leader of the Intimacies of Remote Warfare and Realities of Algorithmic Warfare research programs and a Senior Researcher at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Her publications and projects critically explore the politics of remote warfare, algorithmic decision-making, security assemblages and the militarization of digital infrastructures.The conversation centers on her co-authored paper "Tracing Algorithmic Harm: From Innovation to Deployment and Impact on Civilians" — written with Linde Arentze and Dr. Marijn Hoijtink. The paper examines the full lifecycle of military AI: from innovation and design in tech companies to deployment in programs such as Project Maven and Microsoft Azure and finally to the often-overlooked consequences for civilians on the ground.We discuss the expanding role of big tech firms in warfare, the accountability gaps created when algorithms make life-and-death decisions and how algorithmic harm is reshaping the ethics, politics and practice of contemporary conflict. This is a deep dive into the new frontiers of war where data, algorithms and corporate actors converge: raising profound questions about security, rights and the future of global order.