why?
Free/Open Source Software proved to be very useful in many fields. It will also be helpful for disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation applications
Free/Open source software can contribute to greater trust or confidence. By giving access to source code, it is possible to check if software would have intentionally included functions that the normal user might not know of or want to be part of the software. These could be backdoors to gain access to computers, but it is also possible to imagine mechanisms that would cheat on the displayed outcome or results of verification regimes.
The approach also create new forms of participation in disarmament and arms control that have not been accessible before and increase global dialog on certain issues. Entrance barriers for the next generation of nuclear arms control experts to join the field would be lower, supporting general capacity building. Similarly, experts from other fields might be able to contribute to nuclear arms control, even if it is not the major field of interest. Interest groups (governmental or non-governmental organizations) previously not involved in technical aspects of verification processes can become active as they would have increased access to tools. As such it would probably be possible to connect the world of “Societal Verification” to the “Expert Verification” done by the community of nuclear arms control experts.