Special Topics in International Studies (390-0-2)
Topic
Artificial Intelligence and World Politics
Meeting Info
Annenberg Hall G32: Tues, Thurs 12:30PM - 1:50PM
Overview of class
Artificial Intelligence and World Politics
The effects of Artificial Intelligence (AI) permeate all aspects of life and impact world politics. What are the implications of such technological developments that now outpace diplomatic negotiations toward international regulations and norm creation? What global institutional changes are necessary to avert dangerous and unforeseen consequences of using AI, such as war and interference in democratic societies? How can we prevent unethical and unlawful uses? Will AI benefit humanity and the protection of nature?
This course introduces the AI policies adopted by states, explores the implications of AI uses and their impacts in different areas of international relations riven by profound transformations: great power rivalry, challenges posed to global cooperation, provision of humanitarian assistance, achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals, and using AI in the military and warfare.
We will examine the application of AI across multiple societal levels and uncover ethical, moral, and international legal implications by grappling with critical questions and answers that must become increasingly central to achieving peace and security in the contemporary world order.
This course will closely examine the events, global governance, and diplomacy of AI on the world stage. We will analyze and address the challenges, obstacles, and opportunities of AI diplomacy today.
Denise Garcia will serve as the Roberta Buffett Visiting Professor of International Studies in Northwestern University's Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences in fall 2026. She will join Weinberg's Roberta Buffett International Studies Program to teach the course Artificial Intelligence & World Politics.
Prof. Garcia is a full Professor at Northeastern University in Boston and a founding faculty member of its Experiential Robotics Institute. Garcia was appointed to the Global Commission on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military and served her term until 2026. Before joining Northeastern, she worked for 3 years at the World Peace Foundation, part of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University. She is formerly a member of the International Panel for the Regulation of Autonomous Weapons (2017-2022), of the Research Board of the Toda Peace Institute (Tokyo, 2020-2023), and of the Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous & Intelligent Systems (Autonomous Weapons Group). She is currently a member of the Institute for Economics & Peace in Sydney, Australia and an advisor to the Global Challenges Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. She was a funded Nobel Peace Institute Fellow in Oslo, Norway in 2017. Garcia collaborates closely with projects in her home country, Brazil.
Garcia has organized a month-long immersive program in Geneva every year since 2007. She takes her students to learn about diplomacy, world politics, citizen science, and technology in the city known as the capital of peace. She holds a PhD from the Graduate Institute of International Studies at the University of Geneva.
Prof. Denise Garcia is the author of the first book on the use of AI in the military: *The AI Military Race: Common Good Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence* (Oxford University Press), and I have written multiple articles on this subject.
Over the past two years, Prof. Garcia served as one of the 15 Global Commissioners on AI, focusing on the responsible use of AI in the military domain. In the work of the Global Commission, Prof. Garcia was tasked to follow global policy-making in multiple high-level meetings in different diplomatic capitals and we published our first strategic guidance to the diplomatic and military communities.
Enrollment Requirements
Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for International Studies students.