Part of the Geopolitics and Global Futures Symposium 2022.

Changing our world - for good or ill?

In the last few years, the field of transformative technologies has expanded at a dizzying rate. While scientific advances can offer untold benefits to humanity, they also pose a myriad of thorny questions about equality, ethics, security – and our very existence. This course examines the latest developments in transformative technologies, including but not limited to Artificial Intelligence (AI), autonomous weapons, Big Data, and virtual reality. It examines the short and long-term ramifications of these technologies in today’s interconnected world.

Learning outcomes

The course provides you with a comprehensive and analytical overview of the role that transformative technologies have started to play in many fields, as well as their ethical and security implications. You will also gain better understanding of how transformative innovations will impact future conflicts. Participants will develop four key competences:

• define and understand the impact of transformative technologies
• analyse the impact of such technologies on questions of moral philosophy and global security
• adopt critical thinking skills for analysing the impact of transformative technologies
• identify key future risks and debates surrounding advances in these technologies

This course is designed for officials from governments and international organisations, as well as members of the security and defence policy planning and the intelligence communities. This course is also relevant to representatives from the private sector and nongovernmental organisations, journalists, and anyone with a professional interest in understanding future international security challenges.