Rethinking Dual Use Beyond Civilian or Military
Image created with ChatGPT GPT-6.1 Sol Medium
By: Sabrina Chen: Research Assistant, Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI); Barry Sanders: Senior Fellow, Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI); Professor, University of Calgary; Tracey Forrest: Research Director, Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI)
“Dual use” has become a label for attracting investment and advancing strategic priorities. Yet its meaning is becoming less clear when researchers, investors and governments use this same term to mean different things.
Not a fixed label
Drawing on our paper “Beyond Dichotomy: Rethinking the Concept of Dual-Use Technologies”, we argue that “dual use” is not a fixed label that divides technologies into two categories. Instead, dual use is an evolving concept shaped by how technologies develop, who uses them and the institutions influencing their direction. Understanding these differences matters when the dual-use label starts to shape decision-making in funding, regulation and oversight.
The many meanings of dual use
Dual use traditionally describes technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes. But in the life sciences, the term often focuses on beneficial research that could be misused to cause harm. Beyond that, dual use also asks whether an application is legitimate or illegitimate under existing legal and political norms.
These framings may overlap but are not interchangeable. The different analytical framings help us to unveil the specific aspirations attached to and concerns associated with certain technology.
Dual use as a spectrum
Thinking beyond the static dichotomy, dual use therefore should be treated as a dynamic and interdisciplinary concept that spans across a spectrum. Using the conventional civilian-military framing as an example: with civilian and military technologies at its endpoints, between them lie the infrastructure with strategic significance, emerging technologies with uncertain future applications, and technologies with more established uses in both domains.
Transportation infrastructure, for instance, can connect communities and support emergency responses while also contributing to military readiness. Emerging technologies pose a different challenge where their future uses remain uncertain, yet decisions about funding and development can already influence which applications become possible.
Where the tech lies on the spectrum is not rigid. Technologies can move in either direction as maturity, markets, geopolitics and social expectations change. The spectrum highlights the context rather than assuming that a technical capability solely determines what the risks are.
Govern the future
This approach supports anticipatory governance for considering possible applications and societal consequences before development pathways become difficult to change. Responsibility extends beyond developers to funders, companies, regulators and others making technological choices.
When discussing a “dual-use” technology, ask which uses are at issue, whose concerns are represented and how those concerns might evolve. A shared, wholistic understanding provides a basis for responsible decisions when shaping our technological future.
ChatGPT-6 Sol Medium was used to refine the wording of select sentences for clarity.
