This topic addresses "epistemic threats"—the erosion of a shared reality. Deep fakes of world leaders could be used to manufacture "inciting incidents," such as a fake declaration of war, which could trigger immediate kinetic conflict.
Background: Traditional security relies on verifying state intent. In an era where audio and video can be perfectly fabricated, the Council must decide how to respond to non-physical threats that destabilize global markets or incite violence.
This examines the threat of "flash wars"—unintended escalations caused by AI algorithms interacting at speeds faster than human decision-making.
Background: The core challenge is establishing international protocols that maintain meaningful human control over lethal autonomous systems to prevent rapid, accidental conflict.
Study GuideModern PMSCs act as "digital mercenaries" hired to conduct information operations or interfere in sovereign elections.
Background: These contractors provide states with plausible deniability. Delegates must debate the legal accountability of private contractors hired for these invisible frontlines.
Non-state actors and state-linked "hacktivists" use sophisticated cyber tools to target critical infrastructure, such as national power grids and banking systems.
Background: The Council must determine the legal threshold for when a digital attack justifies a collective security response under the UN Charter.
Study GuideThis hybrid committee brings together sovereign states and Tech Representatives (e.g., Meta, TikTok) to create binding rules for the digital world.
Background: Focus areas include creating standards for algorithmic transparency, data ownership, and the prevention of digital warfare while defining modern cyber-sovereignty.
Private satellite networks provide global connectivity but bypass national firewalls, posing risks to state information control and orbital safety.
Background: Delegates must address "space-based data privacy" and ensure that orbital providers respect the digital sovereignty of the nations they cover while managing environmental risks like space debris.
Study GuideThis topic focuses on protecting human employment from AI displacement and regulating AI content that scrapes human data.
Background: AI models often train on data without the consent of original creators. ECOSOC must debate how to protect intellectual property and manage the shift in labour markets caused by generative technologies.
Investigating the risks of unregulated crypto-assets and shadow banking systems that bypass traditional oversight.
Background: DeFi can threaten the economic security of developing nations. Delegates must find ways to regulate assets that are designed to be "decentralized" and outside state control.
Study GuideAs educational and cultural experiences move into VR/AR, there is a rising risk of "digital revisionism"—where history is inaccurately gamified or rewritten.
Background: UNESCO must ensure that AI does not compromise academic integrity or erase the historical truth of marginalized communities in virtual spaces.
Ensuring that large language models (LLMs) do not exploit indigenous knowledge.
Background: Indigenous communities often have their oral histories harvested for AI training without consent. This topic focuses on creating frameworks to preserve endangered languages and protect cultural data.
Study GuideThis addresses the manipulation of environmental data by corporations or states who use misleading information to appear eco-friendly while continuing to pollute.
Background: Delegates must find ways to enforce transparency in sustainability reporting so that global climate goals are based on fact rather than marketing.
AI development and crypto-mining require immense amounts of energy and water for cooling data centres.
Background: UNEP will formulate international standards for sustainable digital infrastructure to address the massive carbon footprint of the "cloud".
Study GuideFocuses on the medical and psychological outcomes of social media consumption among young people.
Background: This committee will formulate guidelines for schools, parents, and healthcare providers to identify early signs of body image disorders and combat the spread of harmful diet trends fuelled by algorithms.
Formulating a unified response to the erosion of public trust in healthcare providers.
Background: Health-related "fake news" significantly impacts pandemic preparedness. WHO must address how "medical populism" undermines evidence-based science and global health security.
Study GuideExamining ways to prevent the use of "fake news" laws to silence dissent and ensure the physical safety of reporters in conflict zones.
Background: As guardians of factual information, journalists are increasingly targeted by digital surveillance and state-mandated internet shutdowns.
Debating the right to erase one's digital past versus the importance of maintaining an accurate historical record.
Background: This topic explores the legal tension between individual privacy and the transparency required for public accountability and historical accuracy.
Study GuideTargeting the rise of AI-generated non-consensual pornography and the use of technology to stalk or harass women.
Background: Digital tools are increasingly weaponized to silence female voices and perpetuate misogyny through hyper-realistic deep fakes.
Examining how automated hiring systems and financial algorithms reinforce gender discrimination.
Background: Delegates will create guidelines for ethical AI to ensure that automated systems do not exclude women from the workforce or financial services.
Study GuideExamining the impact of biometric identification and digital citizenship on refugees and stateless populations.
Background: This committee ensures that technology serves as a tool for inclusion rather than surveillance, specifically for those who lack traditional state-recognized identity documents.
Debating the ethics of mass-scraping cultural data for AI training without consent.
Background: This topic explores how digital platforms can perpetuate colonial power dynamics and seeks to formulate rights-based frameworks for the protection of indigenous communities.
Study GuideAddressing the rise of anonymous digital bazaars that facilitate transnational crime.
Background: UNODC will formulate international strategies to track and dismantle the "cyber-syndicates" that operate with impunity in the dark web.
Examining legal frameworks to prosecute cyber-ransom groups that hold civic infrastructure hostage.
Background: This topic focuses on developing shared protocols to protect public hospitals and utilities from digital hostage-taking and extortion.
Study GuideA crisis simulation focused on "Epistemic Security".
Background: Delegates must navigate the containment of both radiation and information, addressing the Soviet Union's attempt to hide the truth from the world.
A fast-paced environment where delegates must manage conflicting reports and hidden agendas.
Background: Focus is on preventing nuclear war in a world of imperfect information and managing high-stakes signal intelligence (SIGINT).
Study GuideDelegates litigate the charges against Aspasia, one of Athens' greatest minds, in a trial exploring character assassination.
Background: This topic explores the thin line between personal freedom and state-mandated morality in a trial investigating gendered disinformation in ancient Greece.
Simulating the judicial defines of Hypatia against charges of sorcery and political subversion.
Background: This trial addresses the historical cost of suppressing intellectual and scientific truth in the name of political stability.
Study GuideStrategies to defend against social media bots and information warfare aimed at eroding trust in democratic institutions.
Background: NATO must define how to defend against non-kinetic "cognitive" attacks that target the mind as a domain of war.
Defending the physical backbone of the global internet from state-sponsored sabotage.
Background: This topic focuses on ensuring the continuity of intelligence sharing during cyber-crises by protecting the vital undersea cables that facilitate transatlantic data flow.
Study GuideAddressing the "Post-Truth" era and debating whether access to factual information is a human right.
Background: The Assembly will determine how the UN can sanction states that weaponize misinformation against their own citizens or other nations.
Study Guide