Note: This post was originally published on E-International Relations. Click here to view The rapid rise of AI companions represents a profound shift in how people relate to technology. Originally designed to answer queries, provide information, and assist with daily tasks, AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are now being customized by users... Continue Reading →
In the Digital World, MFAs Must Change
The digitalization of diplomacy has led to profound changes in MFAs (ministries of foreign affairs) across the world. This change has structural, normative, and practical dimensions. Structurally, most MFAs now have digital units tasked with authoring digital content and analyzing the social media output of other actors. In many MFAs, social media is used as... Continue Reading →
The Dangers of the AI Hype
A version of this post was originally published on E-IR website and can be found here According to Dr. Dan Kotliar, technological advancements are accompanied by a certain degree of hype, or hyperbolic discourse. The internet, for example, was accompanied by a democratization hype with scholars and pundits arguing that the internet would enable new... Continue Reading →
AI Power and its Impact on Digital Diplomacy Research
Throughout the 1980s, noted British historian Eric Hobsbawm delivered a series of lectures examining the academic study of history, and the state of social history, his chosen field. Hobsbawm’s lectures offer much needed insight into the study of digital diplomacy, in general, and the study of AI’s potential impact on diplomacy. For example, Hobsbawm argued... Continue Reading →
DeepSeek- An Awesome Chinese AI Tool for Disinfromation
The past week saw the launch of DeepSeek, a Chinese Generative AI tool. The launch of a Chinse rival to American AIs such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Claude caught the world by surprise and sent global markets into a tailspin. Tech stocks, and chip stocks in particular, plummeted with Invidia losing $600 Billion in a... Continue Reading →
Between Measuring Engagement and Measuring Resonance
In the early days of digital diplomacy research, scholars were enamored by “engagement metrics”. Given that digital diplomacy was closely associated with public diplomacy, and seeing as how public diplomacy mandated that diplomats “engage” with foreign populations, counting likes, Re-Tweets and comments seemed fruitful. By measuring “engagement metrics” one could finally measure the outcome of... Continue Reading →
The Roaring 2020s? On the AI Frenzy and the Future of Digital Diplomacy
The rapid and consecutive launch of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools over the past two years has generated a global frenzy. Large language models such as ChatGPT and Gemini have already amassed hundreds of millions of users and have been hailed as ushering in a new technological era marked by limitless data-driven insight and creativity. Global... Continue Reading →
The Past and Present Clash Between AI and Diplomacy
Historian Eric Hobsbawm dedicated much of his academic work to exploring the impact of the past on present-day societies. For Hobsbawm, the past was always present. Yet the function that the past plays in the present could differ greatly. During times of upheaval, the past can serve as a roadmap or template for overcoming adversity.... Continue Reading →
Monday’s Digital Diplomacy Must Read List
Each week, I publish a list of interesting articles, essays and reports that may be of interest to the digital diplomacy community. This week- Germany blames China for ‘serious’ cyber attack (The Financial Times) OpenAI’s Sam Altman is becoming one of the most powerful people on Earth. We should be very afraid (The Guardian) TikTok... Continue Reading →
What An AI Fashion Show Tells us About Tech Moguls
On July 21st, Elon Musk shared a tweet featuring an AI-generated fashion show of world leaders. The AI fashion show soon went viral, given the satirical depiction of world leaders and due to its realistic appearance. Although the fashion show was clearly generated by AI, the video did demonstrate the extent to which this technology... Continue Reading →