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On April 27, 2022, a group of scholars studying emerging technologies convened for a research and teaching workshop at American University. The study of emerging technologies in the social sciences is underdeveloped; but a dynamic group of scholars has undertaken exciting new projects, and they met to discuss the future of the field. This inaugural workshop laid a strong foundation for what we envision as a recurring event.Ìý

Eleni Ekmektsioglou (American University) and Sanne Verschuren (Stanford University) convened the Emerging Scholars on Emerging Technologies workshop in conjunction with Professor Joseph Torigian (American University) and with support from the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA) and the Center for Security, Innovation, and New Technology (CSINT). This event brought together researchers from political science and history to advance three goals:

1. Supporting junior scholars in developing, publishing, and promoting high-quality research on emerging technologies, including using original methodological tools and under-studied cases.
2. Creating a dialogue on teaching practices for courses on emerging technologies, to identify challenges and brainstorm solutions.
3. Fostering a network of like-minded scholars for continued support and mentorship.

In pursuit of these goals, Ekmektsioglou and Verschuren selected an outstanding lineup of presenters, panelists, and participants. A common refrain heard throughout the day was how few other forums existed specifically for political scientists working on emerging technologies.

I. Junior Scholar Research on Emerging Technologies

The workshop opened with seven early career scholars presenting new research. Many of the presenters offered innovative theories on how emerging technologies intersect with – or disrupt – existing thinking on deterrence, arms control, or military effectiveness. These questions are vital theoretical issues that dog strategic thinkers today. In answering them, the researchers did not constrain themselves to traditional IR methods but also drew on creative cross-disciplinary methodologies rooted in psychology, sociology, and economics. Presenting researchers likewise pursued theories from outside of European and North American schools of thought. Other major themes were debates about how to examine technological impacts through different stages of development, and discussions about the lack of agreed-upon definitions for key concepts like innovation and emerging technology as well as how to measure success. ÌýThese were all inspiring avenues for moving forward in the research on emerging technology, and everyone agreed that continuing their work and collaboration was vital.Ìý

But as it was a first workshop, other aspects of the new field were understandably omitted or underdeveloped. For example, the powerful role of private industry was largely left out of the research presentations. Especially as scholars strive to understand innovation from idea generation to implementation, they must look beyond traditional military actors. Another common challenge was a scarcity of primary sources or unclassified data. This trend – a limitation of the emerging technologies subfield writ large -- pushed many of the presenting scholars toward well-documented 20^th century weapons systems and major wars rather than studies of cutting-edge 21st century technologies. The relationship between historical case studies and today’s digitally-based technologies can be difficult to establish. Doing so is vital to the policy relevance of the research going forward.

The opportunity for junior scholars to discuss common methodological challenges reinforced the value of a workshop aimed specifically at the emerging technology community. Discussants and other participants offered feedback on the draft research, often pointing presenters in new methodological directions. For example, several senior scholars championed scenario methods as a means of overcoming scarce data or pointed researchers toward new sources of data. A diverse group of participants from different fields and sub-disciplines also prompted suggestions for overlooked cases.

The workshop convened by Ekmektsioglou and Verschuren fostered compelling discussions of emerging technologies scholarship. One conclusion reached was that we need more such meetings and forums for established and new social scientists working on security and emerging technologies.

II. Teaching Emerging Technologies

In the second half of the workshop, mid-career and senior scholars shared their experiences creating and teaching courses on emerging technologies. One debate that emerged was the challenges for early career political scientists (the primary discipline of most workshop participants) teaching new courses on these issues, which many had not studied in their own graduate training. Some of the presenters argued that the social science skills of synthesizing complex material and contextualizing technological debates in history or theory made them well-poised to tackle this challenge. Others contended that effectively teaching emerging technologies required entirely new methods of teaching to break down silos of expertise between traditional scientists and social scientists. A clear consensus did not emerge, but an important takeaway was the importance of exposing students to the security, ethical, and technical implications of emerging technologies going forward.

The teaching discussion was rich and often personal. Instructors, especially early in their careers, may be daunted by the prospect of keeping up with ever-evolving developments in emerging technologies. This may quickly lead to burn-out or neglecting research to constantly modify syllabi. Senior scholars on the panel recommended some individual-level remedies, such as drawing on guest lectures or student presentations. A more sustainable solution, however, requires long-run departmental planning to spread technology topics and methods across multiple courses.

A related quandary is how to design courses that educate students on the foundational political science topics demanded of their degree while also creating an engaging classroom experience. Workshop participants held different views on where they drew the line in their own teaching. Some panelists argued that encouraging student interest in current challenges is worth sacrificing some traditional syllabus content. Other senior scholars expressed the importance of maintaining the instructor’s lecture plan to deliver on the goals of a course. Regardless of the level of flexibility baked into teaching, a near-unanimous consensus was that student interest in emerging technologies increased when assigned some non-scholarly readings (or other content like podcasts) and when teachers used interactive classroom activities like crisis simulations.

The equal weight given to teaching best practices was a refreshing addition to the agenda. Particularly because the workshop was aimed at early career scholars, discussions of teaching methods provided professional development support to those just beginning to design their own courses.

Participants decided that the best way to maintain the momentum of this teaching conservation was to create an online resource hub for emerging technology teaching materials such as syllabi, readings, exercises, and simulations. This will be forthcoming on the CSINT website.

Conclusion

As several attendees attested, there is strong interest among the community of emerging technology scholars for more opportunities to connect and collaborate. Future iterations of the Emerging Scholars on Emerging Technologies workshop would certainly be welcome. One open question is the extent to which future events should prioritize a more inter-disciplinary attendee list. On one hand, the value of dialogue between social scientists and technical experts was a recurring theme of the day. On the other hand, the breadth of topics covered during this workshop – even though the presenters were predominantly political scientists – somewhat limited participants’ ability to give comprehensive feedback. One answer would be to narrow the thematic focus of future workshops to specific topics like theories of innovation or combatting technological determinism or even individual new technologies. Beyond disciplinary diversity, the organizers might also consider drawing on a wider pool of participants. The early career presenters at this year’s workshop hailed from elite institutions and had previously published on emerging technology issues. Supporting and attracting diverse new voices will be an important path forward for this initiative.

Participant List

Research Presenters:

• Aaron Bateman, George Washington University
• Andres Gannon, Harvard University
• Julie George, Cornell University
• Kendrick Kuo, U.S. Naval War College
• Shahryar Pasandideh, George Washington University and Harvard University
• Shira Pindyck, University of California at San Diego
• Sanne Verschuren, Stanford University

Teaching Panelists:

• Audrey Kurth Cronin, American University
• Charles Glaser, George Washington University
• Erik Lin-Greenberg, MIT
• Jon Lindsay, Georgia Tech
• Joshua Rovner, American University
• Joseph Torigian, American University
• Rachel Whitlark, Georgia Tech

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