The Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN), an international association of non-profit organizations that support, promote, and produce investigative journalism, will convene a free online training workshop on October 6, 2026, to equip investigative journalists with practical skills for investigating the growing role of technology and artificial intelligence (AI) in modern warfare and armed conflicts.
The training, titled “Investigating Technology and AI in Conflict,” will examine how technologies and AI systems are increasingly shaping contemporary conflicts, while providing journalists with methods for tracing the companies, financial transactions, procurement decisions, and technological infrastructure behind their deployment.
According to GIJN, reporting on modern warfare can no longer focus exclusively on what takes place on the battlefield, as journalists increasingly need to investigate how technologies used in conflicts are conceived, financed, and developed in corporate offices, data centres, and technology companies located far from conflict zones.
The training is scheduled to hold on October 6, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. EDT / 3:30 p.m. CET and will be conducted online.
GIJN said the workshop would explore what it described as an emerging military-technological complex, in which cloud platforms, AI models, and commercial technology infrastructure have become increasingly integrated into the conduct of warfare.
It warned that the growing weaponisation of technology could make it more difficult for journalists and the public to determine who is responsible for decisions and actions taken during conflicts.
The workshop will encourage journalists to look beyond the immediate users of military technology and examine the broader networks of corporations, governments, contractors, technology providers, and financial institutions that make such systems possible.
According to GIJN, investigative reporters covering conflicts need to develop methods for tracing the technological and financial infrastructure behind warfare, rather than concentrating exclusively on battlefield events.
A central component of the training will be the use of documentary and open-source evidence to investigate the technology used in conflicts.
GIJN said participants would learn how to examine procurement records, trade databases, export licences, corporate filings, and other digital traces left by the military-technology ecosystem.
These sources can potentially help journalists establish connections between governments, military institutions and private technology companies; identify suppliers and contractors; trace financial flows; and establish how particular technologies move from commercial markets into military or surveillance applications.
Such techniques could provide journalists with new avenues for accountability reporting in situations where direct access to conflict zones is difficult or dangerous.
The workshop will also address technologies such as surveillance infrastructure and automated decision-making systems.
GIJN said the training would introduce participants to a practical framework for investigating the technological systems underpinning contemporary warfare, including the financial flows that make their development and deployment possible.
The focus on AI is particularly significant because artificial intelligence is increasingly being incorporated into military and security systems. Investigative journalists may, therefore, need to establish not only what technology is being used but also who developed it, what data or models underpin it, who purchased it, how it is deployed, and what consequences its use has for civilians.
GIJN said participants would leave the training with practical methods, suggested sources, and real-world examples that they could use in pursuing accountability investigations into technology and warfare.
The training will be led by Dr. Iain Overton, a British investigative journalist, author, and human rights activist, who is the Executive Director of Action on Armed Violence and an associate professor at SOAS University of London in the United Kingdom, where he leads the MA Investigative and Human Rights Journalism pathway. He is also a Peabody Award winner and former Managing Editor of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. His academic research and professional work have focused extensively on conflict, weapons, and human rights.
GIJN said the training is part of its Global Academy’s programme of free training, webinars, and workshops for investigative journalists worldwide, with particular attention to journalists working under repressive regimes and those from marginalised communities.
The workshop is expected to contribute to the development of a new generation of investigative approaches capable of examining the increasingly complex relationship between technology, AI, warfare, and human rights.
GIJN has invited interested journalists to register for the online training ahead of the October 6 session. Interested participants can register at https://bit.ly/4gEeMKB.
