“In Focus” Syllabus Supplements: Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technology, and National Security (2025–2026)

Access the Artificial Intelligence, Emerging Technology, and National Security (2025–2026) In Focus Syllabus Supplement via PDF here.

Table of Contents

SECTION I — Military AI, Autonomous Systems, and the Laws of War

SECTION II — AI, Counterterrorism, and International Institutions

SECTION III — AI, Diplomacy, and Great-Power Technology Competition

SECTION IV — Technology Corporations and National Security

SECTION V — National Security and Cyber Strategies

Resources and Trackers

Clara Apt and Brianna Rosen, Just Security’s Artificial Intelligence Archive (continually updated)

SECTION I — Military AI, Autonomous Systems, and the Laws of War

1. Sarah Wilbanks and John Ramming Chappell, Civilian Protection in the Age of Military AI: What Congress’s New Legislative Proposals Reveal About Emerging Safeguards (July 2026)
2. Michael Schmitt and Klaudia Klonowska, Ukrainian Drone Incursions into Baltic States, Russian Electronic Warfare Countermeasures, and International Law (May 2026)
3. Michael Loftus, A Feasible Precaution Ignored: AI Targeting Algorithms and the Failure to Recognize Protected Emblems (April 2026)
4. Klaudia Klonowska and Michael Schmitt, Iranian Attacks on the Amazon Data Centers: A Legal Analysis (March 2026)
5. Michael Schmitt, Technology and the ICRC’s GC IV 2025 Commentary (March 2026)
6. Zena Assaad, Artificial Urgency: Reflecting on AI Hype at the 2026 REAIM Summit (March 2026)
7. Tobias Vestner and Simon Cleobury, The Third Summit on Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) (February 2026)
8. Lena Tarbucco, Embedded Human Judgment in the Age of Autonomous Weapons (October 2025)

Students may also be interested in our prior work, including: Brianna Rosen, AI and the Future of Drone Warfare: Risks and Recommendations (October 2023)

SECTION II — AI, Counterterrorism, and International Institutions

1. David Scharia, Global Governance of Emerging Technologies: Counterterrorism Challenges at the United Nations Security Council (April 2026)
2. Tomaso Falchetta and Romain Lanneau, Will the Next U.N. Counterterrorism Strategy Hold States Accountable For Their Use of AI? (March 2026)

SECTION III — AI, Diplomacy, and Great-Power Technology Competition

1. Vashti Ortego, Beyond Tech-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, Gender, and the Governance of Digital Economies in ASEAN (June 2026)
2. Joe Khawam, From Diagnosis to Deterrence: The Emerging U.S. Response to Adversarial Distillation (May 2026)
3. You-Hao Lai, The Tightrope Walk of Democratic Defense: Lessons from Taiwan’s Platform Governance Challenge (April 2026)
4. Joe Khawam, The Case for Imposing Costs on China’s AI Distillation Campaigns (March 2026)
5. Andrew W. Reddie, What Lies Ahead for Nuclear Technology and Security in 2026 (February 2026)
6. Michael Schiffer, Trump’s Chip Strategy Needs Recalibration (December 2025)

SECTION IV — Technology Corporations and National Security

1. Ashley Deeks and Kristen Eichensehr, Ban Pay-to-Play National Security Approvals (March 2026)
2. Chris Rogers, How Iran, Anthropic-DoD Dispute Show the Need for Protective AI (March 2026)
3. Harold Hongju Koh, Bruce Swartz, Avi Gupta and Brady Worthington,, The War on Anthropic: Pretextual Designation and Unlawful Punishment (March 2026)
4. Tess Bridgeman, What Hegseth’s “Supply Chain Risk” Designation of Anthropic Does and Doesn’t Mean (March 2026)
5. Cyrus Hodes, Grok Showed the World What Ungoverned AI Looks Like (March 2026)
6. Ignacio Cofone, Grok, Deepfakes, and the Collapse of the Content/Capability Distinction (February 2026)

SECTION V — National Security and Cyber Strategies

1. Patryk Pawlak, Cybersecurity Meets Geopolitics at Top EU Court (April 2026)
2. Teddy Nemeroff and Brianna Rosen, The Trump Administration Has a Cyber Strategy. Does It Have a Plan? (March 2026)
3. Jam Kraprayoon and Shaun Ee, When AI Runs the Operations: Autonomous Agents and the Future of Cyber Competition (March 2026)
4. Christopher Painter, U.S. Withdrawal from International Cyber Organizations Weakens Global Cooperation Against Cyber Threats (February 2026)
5. Harriet Moynihan, Securing Justice for Cyber-Enabled International Crimes (February 2026)
6. Teddy Nemeroff, The Era of AI-Orchestrated Hacking Has Begun: Here’s How the United States Should Respond (January 2026)
7. Morgan Peirce, America’s Cyber Retreat Is Undermining Indo-Pacific Security (December 2025)