A virtual presentation by Dr. Alex Aissaoui (University of Helsinki), moderated by Professor Dani Belo (Webster University).

In 2008, Robert O. Keohane reflected on the big questions in the study of world politics. For Keohane, one of the key issues was that collective action on a global scale had become easier than ever before due to the possibilities offered by the internet. Over a decade and a half later, it is not so much the internet but rather artificial intelligence (AI) that is in the driving seat to change the world, probably as much as the first wave of the Industrial Revolution. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of AI for the discipline of IR? Among other things, AI opens new prospects for data gathering and international-system analysis. At the same time, it raises questions about how much we should rely on information produced by AI. Drawing on this revolutionary technological innovation and earlier theorizing within the IR field on the role of technology as a research tool, this lecture aims to analyze how AI is changing the way we perceive the world.