The Future of Artificial Intelligence Governance and International Politics

Posted: 4th December 2025

New Report and Thought Pieces from

Perry World House

Amidst a period of intensifying geopolitical competition, the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a defining question for the future of international security, prosperity, and cooperation. The United States, People’s Republic of China, and other powers are rapidly advancing AI capabilities across the civilian, commercial, and military domains. In particular, the pursuit of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—a model that could be equivalent to or better than human experts across a broad range of tasks and has the ability to improve itself—adds further urgency, raising fundamental questions about global stability. Overall, the rapid development and deployment of AI systems—from generative models to autonomous platforms—is raising difficult trade-offs between innovation and safety, as well as competition and cooperation.
 

To examine these dynamics Perry World House convened a conference on October 6-7, 2025, with experts, scholars, and policymakers on AI technology, international relations, and national security. This event built on previous efforts by PWH as part of its Emerging Technologies and Global Politics Project, including prior conferences on artificial intelligence and global security, a Penn-wide conference on AI policy, the Democracy and Emergent Technology series in cooperation with the Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy, and recent academic collaborations between PWH and the RAND Corporation. Evidence of the impact of these policy efforts includes the Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy, which emerged out of conversations from PWH’s research on emerging technologies.

Click here to read the reportThought PiecesDesigning Lawful Military AI: Technical and Legal Reflections on Decision-Support and Autonomous Weapon Systems by Zena Assaad and Jessica Dorsey

The Role of “Everyone Else” in the International Effort Toward Responsible AIby Ariel Conn

The Path of Most Resistance: Artificial General Intelligence as a Non-Kinetic Innovation by Erin D. Dumbacher

The Myth of the Human-in-the-Loop and the Reality of Cognitive Offloading by Lauren A. Kahn

AI on the Frontline: Managing Speed, Stability, and Accountability in Combat by Sarah Kreps

AGI Eschatology and Security Scatology by Jon R. Lindsay

Exploring the Implications of Military Artificial Intelligence for Deterrence by Erica Lonergan

Dehumanization and Public Support for Emerging Technologies on the Battlefield by Paul Lushenko

Bureaucracy and the Future of Global AI Competition by Keegan McBride

International Security and Artificial General Intelligence by Alex Weisiger

U.S.-China AI Cooperation Under Trump 2.0 by Kevin WerbachLearn more about PWH’s Security Program