IR222: From Cyberwar to Killer Robots: Emerging Technology and International Security

Brief the Head of State about how to address a North Korean nuclear crisis. Fight through a war game about cyberattacks between India and Pakistan. Use generative AI to combat disinformation on your social media timeline. These activities and more will help guide students through a comprehensive look at technology and international security in society.

Advances in weapons technologies, artificial intelligence, digital economic platforms, and more complicate international politics and create new risks for international conflict. This course explores the lessons learned from technological innovations—from non-lethal weapons to nuclear weapons, space to cyberspace—and investigates the role that new technologies will play in the evolving politics of the future.

This course covers keystone technologies from bioweapons to killer robots to provide insight into pressing political questions such as: What role does technology play in warfare and in international security? How have the tools of war changed – and what do those changes mean for the laws, norms, ethics, conduct, and strategy of conflict? How can we combat the national and international security risks of emerging technologies?

This course uses an interdisciplinary approach rooted in political science, sociology, policy studies, strategic studies, history, science and technology studies, and international relations. Students will learn key technical concepts, explore the legality and ethics of various military technologies, analyse military campaigns and strategy, and investigate the challenges of technology policy and regulation. Empirically, this course focuses on modern warfare and investigates the challenges that new methods of conflict – from autonomous weapons to network-centric warfare – play in the landscape of international politics.

Students who receive an offer for this course are also eligible to apply for the Academic Director's Scholarship.

Prerequisites: At least one introductory course in either social science (e.g., political science, international relations, sociology, economics, psychology, communication), history or law. No technical expertise is required.

Level: 200 level. Read more information on levels in our FAQs

Fees: Please see Fees and payments

Lectures: 36 hours

Classes: 18 hours

Assessment: A final exam and class participation

Typical credit: 3-4 credits (US) 7.5 ECTS points (EU)

Please note: Assessment is optional but may be required for credit by your home institution. Your home institution will be able to advise how you can meet their credit requirements. For more information on exams and credit, read Teaching and assessment

This course is ideal if you are seeking to understand the interface between technology and politics. For students targeting a career in digital and technology fields—such as digital consulting, technology and finance, or research, regulation, and policy development in technology spaces—this course will cover relevant technical and social-scientific concepts.

The course will provide introductory and intermediate-level knowledge useful for students looking to apply for MSc, MBA, JD, or MA programs in fields such as: international security, science and technology studies, history of science, technology and finance, technology and management, or technology law, among other topics.

This course may be of interest to students within a wide range of history, law, philosophy, and social scientific backgrounds. Students with interests or experience in science and technology may also be well-suited for this course. We welcome students from any field - from cultural anthropology to computer science. Prior technical expertise is not expected and will not be required for success in the course.

The course is designed to be unified by an empirical object of study – emerging technology – and it includes an open-ended set of questions that speaks to, and is accessible from, an explicitly interdisciplinary perspective. The course draws primarily from a variety of social sciences, but it is also informed by STEM knowledge focused on various technologies, and it utilizes tools from the arts and humanities to approach and understand those technologies.

The course is also designed to consider emerging technology and its challenges from a global perspective – using cases and texts with a broad geographical reach that includes study examples throughout the course from every continent.

This course teaches students to:

• Understand the laws, norms, and theories of warfare
• Be familiar with emerging technologies and their roles in modern warfare
• Analyze scholarship on the conduct and strategy of conflict
• Consider the ethical, social, and political implications of emerging tech in/for warfare
• Apply these skills to historical cases of conflict and current events

This course will also help students learn various skills transferable for careers in technology and policy. These include (but are not limited to!) the following:

• Persuasion & Negotiation: Students will develop persuasion and negotiation skills through course activities—including structured debates and simulated diplomatic negotiations—and written assignments of persuasive essays. Students will learn about what makes certain political rhetoric persuasive and will study theories and cases of how successful international agreements are negotiated
• Decision-making: Students will learn to analyze different types of evidence—such as primary historical sources and quantitative data—to draw reasoned conclusions. Students will explore why political leaders make certain decisions and learn “decision-theory” models of international politics
• Communication: Students will receive guidance to help them produce compelling essays with a clear argumentative structure that demonstrate students' communication and analysis skills

The design of this course is guided by LSE faculty, as well as industry experts, who will share their experience and in-depth knowledge with you throughout the course.