ABSTRACT
The fields of international security and strategic studies are inundated by pages written on the revolutionary impact of emerging technologies. The latter often include advancing ethically positive or negative consequences; favoring cooperation versus conflict; displacing the balance of power as a structural feature; subverting arms control, laws of war, and global governance; redefining the role of the state; and empowering disparate non- and trans-state actors. The chapter focuses on the theme that emerging technologies can be disruptive to society and industry, and also at the tactical and operational military levels, but necessarily transformative in terms of the consequences for international security. The central finding that cuts across the chapters is that the record of powerful international security effects is mixed when it comes to emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), lethal autonomous weapons, unmanned drones, hypersonic missiles, cyber capabilities, remote sensing, quantum computing, and additive manufacturing.
