On AiR: IR in the age of AI

In this episode Medlir and Chris have a chat with Young Diogenes about the use of AI in the latest Top Gun movie, and then explore the boundaries, risks, and opportunities of human-AI collaboration going forward, in a wide ranging discussion that also looks at the question of ‘tamagotchi’ children.Links:Hear Val Kilmer's AI voice – SonanticVal Kilmer’s daughter says watching dad film ‘Maverick’ was ‘extraordinary’IMDBVal Kilmer's Dialogue in "Top Gun: Maverick" Was Read By AI Because He Can't Speak Anymore

In this episode Medlir and Chris speak with the two of the authors of a Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) Georgetown report on AI cooperation among members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, more commonly known as the Quad.LinksQuad AI | Assessing AI-related Collaboration between the United States, Australia, India, and JapanThe Future of the Quad’s Technology Cooperation Hangs in the Balance

Medlir and Chris discuss the distinction between analogue and digital approaches to IR and the impact of digital innovations in peace-building. They also ask whether digital peace is any more secure and less fragile than the analog one. Meanwhile Young Diogenes engages with Derek Parfit's 'hinge of history' argument and, unsurprisingly, finds extant interpretations lacking.Links:The Oxford Handbook of Peacebuilding, Statebuilding, and Peace FormationPeace-making: new technologies are no panaceaCan history be used to predict the future? Some experts say it can

Medlir and Chris discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the future of global trade, data colonialism and prospects for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework with guest Dan Ciuriak, while Young Diogenes talks up AI’s potential to transform manufacturing ("Yes, yes, I understand 'Manufacturing' won't seem all that exciting to some of you. Ha. " --YD) Links:Unfree Flow with No Trust | the Post-Pandemic |

Chris and Medlir explore with Young Diogenes the question of whether AI will be our artist of the future, while Medlir talks to Ilan Manor about public digital diplomacy and the use of digital tools in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.Links:AI-art isn’t artCommunicating with Purpose and Value: Chapter 3 Digital DiplomacyHow Digital Diplomacy is Shaping the #Ukraine CrisisDigital Diplomacy in #Ukraine- A Case of Strategic TransparencyWhy digital sanctions are the latest geopolitical battleground

Chris and Medlir review AI-themed television shows with Young Diogenes (e.g. Westworld), followed by a discussion with Frederick Bruneault, professor of philosophy at University of Quebec Montreal, asking the question: How do we define AI ethics and how do we avoid pitfalls in the debate surrounding it. Finally, we ask Dr. Bruneault, what is missing from the current discussion on AI ethics?Links:Groupe de recherche sur l’information et la surveillance au quotidienAI ethics debate: How can information ethics provide a framework which allows us to avoid usual conceptual pitfalls?» (coll. A.S. Laflamme), AI & Society, 36, 2021, 757-766AI Ethics Training in Higher Education: Competency Framework» (coll. A.S. Laflamme & A. Mondoux), SocArXiv, March 2022The role of corporations in addressing AI’s ethical dilemmas, Darrell M. West Thursday, September 13, 2018 Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Human Rights: Risks and OpportunitiesPamela Passman

Medlir and Chris start off our third season with AI4Peace's Branka Panic, about how AI can contribute to peace and conflict prevention. Plus see our bonus episode this week on YD's AI movie picks, which also led to a lively second discussion.Links:AI4Peace |  Report on data for peacebuilding and prevention |  The Berkeley Protocol |  The Costs of Connection |  Conflict Forecast |  Hala Systems |

How do we teach emerging tech in IR? How will technological changes impact the discipline in particular and higher education more broadly? How can we best design curriculums to address emerging challenges? These are some of the questions Medlir and Chris will explore in the second part of our two part series on higher education with guests Andre Barrinha and Raluca Csernatori.

What does the education look like in an age of everincreasing demands for technical proficiency and availability? How can we make better uses of emerging tech in our classrooms and study spaces? Tech IQ versus Emotional IQ. What is the balance? Professor Nancy Gleason and Dr. Alexandra Mihai joined Chris and Medlir to discuss these questions and more in the first of a two-episode special on Higher Education and Teaching in the age of AI.  (YD is on hiatus this week.)Links:

Medlir and Chris talk to Bojan Perkov of the SHARE Foundation about digital surveillance in Serbia. Meanwhile, YD discusses why mass surveillance and facial recognition technologies are far from benign. Notes

Medlir and Chris talk to Marwa Fatafta, a Palestian digital rights activist, about her work as a digital activist in Palestine and how digital technologies are harnessed against civil society. Young Diogenes also explains the nuts-and-bolts of spyware.

Medlir and Chris have a discussion with Dr. Daphné Richemond-Barak of IDC Herzliya-Israel, about: the evolving role of tunnels in warfare, the importance of international humanitarian law, the Abraham Accords, and whether AI-enabled defense systems like Israel's Iron Dome should be emulated or regulated alongside other Autonomous Weapons Systems. Meanwhile, Young Diongenes shares what some of the consequences may be for AIs 'mastering' the human game of hide & seek.Links:

Description: Medlir and Chris discuss with Gloria Shkurti Özdemir of Turkey-based think-tank SETA, Turkey's ambitious plans for the development and export of AI-enabled military hardware in light of the country's recently announced 5 year strategy. Ismail al-Jaazari, a 12th century Muslim scholar, inventor, artist, and mathematician credited with being the father of robotics, and Ada Lovelace, a gifted 19th century mathematician and the world's 'first computer programmer', make a joint appearance in our segment with Young Diogenes.

Medlir, Chris, and YD discuss some of the major developments in AI for IR during the past year (and other delightful tangents).

Medlir and Chris explore China’s approach to AI governance and innovation with our guest Chen Dingding in a conversation that touches on a number of topics from US-China relations and tech competition to AI governance. While YD ask questions about what the term Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) means, and whether the substrate (biological, silicon, etc.) on which AI runs is likely to affect the ability to truly achieve the AGI that many people imagine. Links:

Medlir and Chris discuss a wide range of topics with Eugenio V. Garcia.  The discussion ranges from: AI militarization and the Global South, efforts to regulate AI by international organizations, to recent developments in AI regulation in Brazil. Meanwhile YD ponders the latest developments in what wearable digital technologies could mean for our digital lives, privacy, and social fragmentation, with a brief look at Facebook/Meta's new "Ray-Ban Stories" smart glasses, and Intel Labs' "Enhancing Photorealism Enhancement”. Links:

Medlir and Chris discuss the opportunities and challenges of AI and emerging tech Southeast Asia, tech competition, and regional digital governance with Mark Manantan, while YD and the team ponder what Dune tells us about our future.Links:

Medlir and Chris discuss innovation, Sino-US tech competition, and AI governance in China with Emily Weinstein. While YD raises the question of whether top down or bottom up incentives are 'better' and the role of government in technology innovation.

Medlir and Chris speak with Leonid Kovachich to discuss Russia’s approach to AI and emerging technology (with YD asking a couple questions about Privacy, Data Governance, and further improving audit trails in the age of AI).Links: