AI and the end of conflict, with Simon Horton

Can we use AI to improve how we handle conflict? Or even to end the worst conflicts that are happening all around us? That’s the subject of the new book of our guest in this episode, Simon Horton. The book has the bold title “The End of Conflict: How AI will end war and help us get on better”.

Simon has a rich background, including being a stand-up comedian and a trapeze artist – which are, perhaps, two useful skills for dealing with acute conflict. He has taught negotiation and conflict resolution for 20 years, across 25 different countries, where his clients have included the British Army, the Saudi Space Agency, and Goldman Sachs. His previous books include “Change their minds” and “The leader’s guide to negotiation”.

Selected follow-ups:

• Simon Horton
• The End of Conflict - book website
• The Better Angels of our Nature - book by Steven Pinker
• Crime in England and Wales: year ending March 2024 - UK Office of National Statistics
• How Martin McGuinness and Ian Paisley forged an unlikely friendship - Belfast Telegraph
• Review of Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now by Scott Aaronson
• A Detailed Critique of One Section of Steven Pinker’s Chapter “Existential Threats” by Philosophy Torres
• End Times: Elites, Counter-Elites, and the Path of Political Disintegration - book by Peter Turchin
• Why do chimps kill each other? - Science
• Using Artificial Intelligence in Peacemaking: The Libya Experience - Colin Irwin, University of Liverpool
• Retrospective on the Oslo Accord - New York Times
• Remesh
• Polis - Democracy Technologies
• Waves: Tech-Powered Democracy - Demos

Music: Spike Protein, by Koi Discovery, available under CC0 1.0 Public Domain Declaration

Art Is Not a Thing
From media art to digital activism: art as critical inquiry and world-building.

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