In a groundbreaking event this October, the American Center for Combating Extremism and Terrorism (ACCET) partnered with the OSCE Mission in Kosovo to convene the country’s first high-level summit on artificial intelligence in counterterrorism and national security. The summit brought together nearly 50 experts from government institutions, international organizations, and the private sector to chart a course for Kosovo’s integration of AI into its security framework.

A Historic Gathering

As OSCE’s Edward Anderson noted during the proceedings, “This is a historical event.” The summit represented Kosovo’s first comprehensive discussion of AI’s role in national security, bringing together diverse stakeholders to address emerging challenges in the digital age. Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Sveçla highlighted Kosovo’s recent progress, including the development of comprehensive strategic documents addressing terrorism and cybersecurity.

Key Challenges and Opportunities

The summit revealed both significant challenges and promising opportunities for Kosovo’s security sector:

Data Integration

While Kosovo’s institutions possess substantial data assets, these remain fragmented across different agencies and systems. Security expert Besa Kabashi-Ramaj emphasized this challenge, noting that the data exists in “bits and pieces disjointed” across institutions, with a particular gap between analog and digital systems.

Public-Private Collaboration

Former U.S. House Homeland Security Advisor Scott Bates highlighted the crucial role of private sector partnerships, noting that “The private sector invests much more money in the development of AI than governments do.” This observation underscores the importance of leveraging private sector capabilities while maintaining appropriate security protocols.

Balancing Security and Rights

OSCE’s Irfan Saeed emphasized a crucial principle: “While artificial intelligence enhances the capacity of governments to protect national security, it must not come at the expense of fundamental freedoms.” This balance between security effectiveness and democratic values emerged as a central theme throughout the discussions.

Looking Forward

The summit produced several concrete recommendations for advancing Kosovo’s AI capabilities in national security:

1. Creation of a unified data architecture for security agencies
2. Establishment of an AI Security Task Force
3. Development of formal public-private partnership mechanisms
4. Implementation of regional information-sharing networks
5. Creation of comprehensive training and education programs
6. Establishment of robust ethical oversight frameworks

ACCET Vice President Dwaine Lee captured the summit’s ultimate goal: “This is about finding the right ways, the right tools, using the right people, the right resources to protect our children and our children’s children.”

A Foundation for the Future

The Kosovo Summit represents not an endpoint but the beginning of a crucial journey toward enhanced security capabilities in the age of artificial intelligence. As Kosovo moves forward with implementing these recommendations, it must maintain the delicate balance between leveraging AI’s potential and ensuring its responsible deployment in service of national security.

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Download the complete Kosovo Summit Report for detailed findings and recommendations.

The American Center for Combating Extremism and Terrorism (ACCET) is committed to advancing security capabilities while protecting democratic values. Learn more about our work at www.accetglobal.com.