BONUS: The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI

Diplomatic Immunity

Bonus: What, exactly, is AI? What are its applications? Why does it matter for national security and geopolitics? Will machines rise up and destroy us all?! Fellow Hoya Andrew Imbrie discussed these questions and more in a fascinating conversation on his new book, co-authored with Ben Buchannon, titled The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI. Come for the Terminator and Matthew Broderick references, but stay for the essential information Imbrie provides on the future of AI and national security!

Andrew Imbrie is an Associate Professor of the Practice and the Gracias Chair in Security and Emerging Technology at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is also an Affiliate at Georgetown's Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET). Prior to his current role, he served as a senior advisor on cyber and emerging technology policy at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. He worked previously as a Senior Fellow at CSET, where he focused on issues at the intersection of artificial intelligence and international security and served as an advisor to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. From 2013 to 2017, he served as a member of the policy planning staff and speechwriter to Secretary John Kerry at the U.S. Department of State. He has also worked as a professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and as a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

He received his B.A. in the humanities from Connecticut College and his M.A. from the Walsh School of Foreign Service. He holds a Ph.D. in international relations from Georgetown University. His writings have appeared in such outlets as Foreign Affairs, War on the Rocks, Lawfare, Survival, Defense One, and On Being. His first book is Power on the Precipice: The Six Choices America Faces in a Turbulent World (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2020). Andrew grew up as the son of a U.S. Foreign Service officer and now resides in Maryland with his wife Teresa Eder, a foreign policy analyst, journalist, and producer.

Buy The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI here. (https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262046541/the-new-fire/)

Episode recorded: December 2, 2022

Produced by Daniel Henderson

Episode Image: The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI cover [MIT Press]

Diplomatic Immunity: Frank and candid conversations about diplomacy and foreign affairs

Diplomatic Immunity, a podcast from the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University, brings you frank and candid conversations with experts on the issues facing diplomats and national security decision-makers around the world.

Funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.