AI can help broker peace: It’s a common trope of sci-fi that AI can be weaponized and make future wars even more devastating. Heck, we even looked at how tech company DeepMind is training AI systems to play the strategy board game Diplomacy. But do-gooder tech nerds are exploring how AI can be used to help peacemaking worldwide.

Peace through AI-analyzed polling: Four years ago, the United Nations asked how technology could be used to survey residents of conflict zones about what they wanted from peace agreements. The idea was that “peace agreements and ceasefires are more likely to last if they reflect the views of the whole population, rather than just a few negotiators,” writes the Financial Times. From there, AI came to the rescue and has since shown significant results.

Thank AI for the October ceasefire in Libya: The idea was put to the test in Libya last October when New York start-up, Remesh developed an AI-assisted poll that analyze open-ended responses in real time, allowing people to anonymously engage about the change they want to see without the hassle of meeting them face-to-face, according to the Washington Post. The resulting discussions gained a ton of attention and were broadcast live on a Libyan news channel, allowing people to honestly discuss their priorities for reunifying the country, stabilising the economy and improving living conditions.

And this wasn’t just an experiment: The responses were taken to the negotiating table for the ceasefire and presented as the mass opinion of the public. Although fragile, the resulting ceasefire has lasted this far. Further dialogues are planned as the peace talks progress.

The tech is planned to be used in conflict resolution efforts in places like Sudan, Mali, Afghanistan and Iraq, the UN said. “Our goal is to apply new methods, new technologies and new ways of thinking to the business of peacemaking,” said Daanish Masood, a political affairs officer with the UN’s Innovation Cell. “We’re concerned with bringing armed conflict to an end by understanding it, tracking it and predicting it.”

Less paramount decision making has also been made more transparent: Taiwan used Seattle-based survey tool Pol.is to ask the masses how to regulate Uber, while the US and Canada have used a similar technology Ethelo to poll communities on topics such as town planning and transport pricing.

Machine learning has been used in predicting conflict since 1996, by analyzing conflict dynamics and designing peacekeeping operations to prevent re-emerging or new conflicts as well as support conflict research. For example, using machine learning techniques a study found that ‘the risk of local violence is higher rather than lower in communities where minority and majority ethnic groups share power’. The finding — which is contrary to popular belief — can help alter prevention techniques and avoid conflict in the first place.

Meanwhile, peacekeeping troops are being trained by AI-based virtual training. The technology is being used to train soldiers and their tactical abilities, leading to a higher success of missions, according to the Security Distillery. The United Nations plans to share the technology with less developed countries to compensate for the lack of resources that results in insufficient training for soldiers facing complex situations in peacekeeping operations.

How can the UN use AI for peace? Masood and his fellow political affairs officer Martin Waehlisch explain to Euro News that the methods are many. Firstly, by using Natural Language Processing to understand human languages and dialects, media and TV can be monitored in conflict zones to identify hate speech or other indicators that unrest is brewing. Tech such as satellites or drones can also be dispatched to detect water scarcity globally — since lack of water drives conflict and undermines stability (as we know). Finally, AI and all its constituents can drive better decision making at all levels by gathering tons of data and putting it into understandable and approachable formats.