A Call to Arms: AI Should be Critical for Social Media Analysis of Conflict Zones

The massive proliferation of social media data represents a transformative moment in conflict studies. This data can provide unique insights into the spread and use of weaponry, but the scale and types of data are problematic for traditional open-source intelligence. This paper presents preliminary, transdisciplinary work using computer vision to identify specific weapon systems and the insignias of the armed groups using them. There is potential to not only track how weapons are distributed through networks of armed units but also to track which types of weapons are being used by the different types of state and non-state military actors in Ukraine. Such a system could ultimately be used to understand conflicts in real-time, including where humanitarian and medical aid is most needed. We believe that using AI to help automate such processes should be a high-priority goal for our community, with near-term real-world payoffs.