Computer vision, a core domain of artificial intelligence (AI), is the field that enables the computational analysis, understanding, and generation of visual data. Despite being historically rooted in military funding and increasingly deployed in warfare, the field tends to position itself as a neutral, purely technical endeavor, failing to engage in discussions about its dual-use applications. Yet it has been reported that computer vision systems are being systematically weaponized to assist in technologies that inflict harm, such as surveillance or warfare. Expanding on these concerns, we study the extent to which computer vision research is being used in the military and surveillance domains. We do so by collecting a dataset of tech companies with financial ties to the field's central research exchange platform: conferences. Conference sponsorship, we argue, not only serves as strong evidence of a company's investment in the field but also provides a privileged position for shaping its trajectory. By investigating sponsors' activities, we reveal that 44% of them have a direct connection with military or surveillance applications. We extend our analysis through two case studies in which we discuss the opportunities and limitations of sponsorship as a means for uncovering technological weaponization.

翻译：计算机视觉作为人工智能的核心领域，致力于实现视觉数据的计算分析、理解与生成。尽管该领域在历史上根植于军事资助，且日益被部署于战争场景，它仍倾向于将自己定位为纯粹中立的工程技术，未能就自身双重用途展开讨论。然而已有报告指出，计算机视觉系统正被系统性地武器化，用于辅助监视或战争等造成伤害的技术。基于这些关切，本研究探究了计算机视觉研究在军事与监视领域的应用程度。我们通过构建数据集，收集了与该领域核心研究交流平台——会议存在财务关联的科技公司。我们认为，会议赞助不仅是公司投资该领域的强有力证据，更为其塑造领域发展轨迹提供了特权地位。通过调查赞助商活动，我们发现44%的赞助商与军事或监视应用存在直接联系。我们延伸分析至两个案例研究，探讨以赞助作为揭露技术武器化手段的机遇与局限性。