A Conversation on AI and Safety in Armed Conflicts

Geneva Loading...

Join us on Wednesday, November 18 for an event with AI evaluators and humanitarian practitioners.

AI systems are entering war zones faster than anyone is testing them for it.

Conflicts are fragile settings involving violence, adversarial actors, a dedicated legal framework (International Humanitarian Law/Law of Armed Conflict), and harms – humanitarian consequences, including death and displacement. Yet the testing standards of AI systems are lagging their deployment in such high-stakes environments.

The closed event will bring AI evaluators and humanitarian practitioners together to explore how the combined expertise can help close that gap – towards safer and more effective products.

This event is part of Geneva Loading…, a multi chapter program preparing eleven Swiss-based thought leaders from academia, civil society, media and policy to contribute to the AI Summit 2027 in Geneva. The program is a collaboration between Swissnex in San Francisco and Mercator Foundation Switzerland, supported by Gesda, AlgorithmWatch, and TA Swiss.

Who should attend? AI safety and evaluations specialists interested in an open exchange on jointly improving AI safety in conflict settings, including through better evaluations, are invited to apply. Seats are very limited.

Program

9:00am – Coffee & breakfast
9:30am – Welcome
9:40am – Lightning talk 1: Blaise Robert (ICRC)
9:50am – Lightning talk 2: Matt Putz (METR)
10:00am – Moderated conversation with the room
10:40am – Networking
11:30am – Event ends

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Event start time

San Francisco
9:00AM

Keynote

Speakers

Bio

Matt Putz
Member of Technical Staff at METR
Matt currently leads human data collection for time horizon and average case alignment evals. He previously worked at Forethought, the European AI Office, and Coefficient Giving, and co-founded ARENA. He has a degree in Engineering Science with a specialization in ML from the Technical University of Munich.
Bio

Blaise Robert
Global AI advisor, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Blaise Robert is the global AI adviser at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). He manages the governance, strategy, R&D partnerships and the implementation of AI tools to support humanitarian operations in conflict zones. Blaise hold a PhD in medical science from Harvard University and a MSc. from EPFL.
Bio

Mark Silverman (Moderator)
Representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Mark Silverman is the ICRC’s representative in Silicon Valley. In this capacity, he contributes to the institution’s digital transformation strategy – specifically on the impact of digital technologies on people in situations of armed conflict – by developing and stewarding relationships and partnerships with business, academic and government/diplomatic entities.
Previously, Mark served as Deputy Head of the ICRC’s Delegation in Myanmar (2016-2018) and Deputy Head of the ICRC’s Regional Delegation for the United States and Canada (2013-2016), and Communication Coordinator for the ICRC’s Delegation in Israel and the Occupied Territories (2024). Before starting with the ICRC in 2007, Mark served in the offices of U.S. Senators John and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island (1996-2006).