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AI and National Security

Offered Spring 2025 with Professor Ben Buchanan

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Ben Buchanan

Professor

The course examines one of the topics most central for the future of national security policy: artificial intelligence (AI). We will begin first by examining what AI is and isn’t, and discuss how the underlying technology works. We will then proceed to survey the national security landscape and consider how AI will impact key policy and strategy decisions in the near future. Topics discussed include autonomous weapons, intelligence collection and analysis, cyber attacks, disinformation, and technology competition. We will also focus on the AI strategies of the US and China. No technical background is required for this class, though we will introduce some important ideas that are relevant to how AI works. Students will be evaluated through a key concepts quiz that assesses understanding of important ideas. They will also be assigned one final paper in which they will take a stand on a proposition regarding AI’s policy impact. In addition, class participation is a vital component of this class, as a substantial portion of each week will be oriented towards discussion.

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