29/07/2026
In the age of AI and modern warfare, can democratic militaries still preserve sound human judgement? Over two days at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at Reichman University, senior practitioners and scholars from Israel and abroad examined how artificial intelligence is reshaping military command, operational decision-making, legal accountability and human-machine collaboration.
Bringing together experts in military affairs, law, behavioral science, AI research and policy, the workshop explored how elected leaders, commanders and democratic institutions can retain meaningful human responsibility under conditions of speed, uncertainty and operational pressure.
Convened by Dr. Kasey Barr, the workshop was held as part of the Lauder School's Program on Democratic Resilience and Development (PDRD) in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS Israel). We are grateful to the Rubenstein Center for Constitutional Challenges (RCCC) and the Abba Eban Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (AEI) at Reichman University for their valued collaboration. Congratulations to Kasey Barr for the highly successful event!
A special thanks to the speakers, moderators, chairs and participants whose expertise shaped the discussions: Dr Liran Antebi, Col. (res.) Dr Aviv Bar-Zohar, Dr Daniel Cohen, Prof. Delphine Dogot, Pascal Franz, Michael Haiden, Prof. Guy Hochman, Prof. Jon Lindsay, Prof. Daphné Richemond-Barak, Dr Michael Rimmel, Dr Ido Rosenzweig, Col. (res.) Adv. Pnina Sharvit-Baruch, Dr Yahli Shereshevsky, Prof. Thilo Stadelmann, Executive Director Goor Tsalalyachin and Maj. Gen. (res.) Saar Tzur. Also to our student session chairs, Michelle Diachook, Valeria Alperin and Rani Khoury. A special thanks to Re’ut Lavy-Ishai to ensure the event's success from start to finish.
As AI transforms warfare, democratic countries must learn to use it effectively without weakening human judgement, making the most of technology while ensuring responsible development, use and maintaining a decision advantage.
We look forward to building on the ideas and collaborations that emerged from the workshop!
📸 Photos by Adi Cohen Zedek
