Fall Research Expo 2020

The International Security Environment: A Look Into Militant Alliances, Military Inclusion, Artificial Intelligence, and Strategic Stability

At the intersection of emerging technologies, society, and global politics, these fields have come together to ultimately shape our international security environment. By perusing through new data on global power projection capabilities as well as analyzing governmental documents, it is clear that the security environment has been volatile over the past decades. From the decapitation of militant leaders to gender inclusivity in the military, and the application of artificial intelligence on nuclear command and control, this project aims to highlight just some of the most important variables that have shaped the realm of international security. From tracing the decapitation of militant leaders from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey and Iraq, the Rebelled Armed Forces in Guatemala, and Shining Path (SL) in Peru, and more, each group was analyzed to see if there was a breakdown with their respective alliances as the central leadership collapsed. Results varied among militant groups, however important variables included organizational structure, funding sources, membership viability, the strength of the ideological movement, and more. Moving into the realm of various militaries across the world, many countries have exhibited constant growth in progressive reforms to include female and LGBTQ members into special ops and promotion in officer ranking positions while other countries are still at a standstill in their progress. As technology advances into the stages of incorporating artificial intelligence into society, whether it be social media, military applications, or machine learning, there is a myriad of implications that must be considered. Evidence suggests that nuclear-armed states may exacerbate instability amongst each other and soon dive into a full-blown AI arms race. In a positive light, however, AI-enabled nuclear command, control, and communication (NC3) networks can be crucial when interacting with nuclear deterrence amongst these nuclear-armed states. Ongoing research suggests that AI technologies may enable faster and more reliable early-warning and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance tools, thus, providing greater awareness. In the same vein, such powerful machine learning may lead to substituting the role of critical thinking, empathy, creativity, and intuition of human commanders in the strategic decision-making that can be detrimental. Overall, the international security environment is very volatile across various dimensions. This project hopes to provide some meaningful insight and considerations into how we can further monitor this robust and evolving environment.

PRESENTED BY
PURM - Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program
College of Arts & Sciences 2023
Join Alex for a virtual discussion
PRESENTED BY
PURM - Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring Program
College of Arts & Sciences 2023

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