Winter School: Science Diplomacy and AI (Registration deadline: 17 September 2026!)
This course explores the theory and practice of science and technology diplomacy in a rapidly evolving global landscape, with a particular focus on the rise of full-stack artificial intelligence. It examines how scientific knowledge, technological infrastructures, and digital innovation shape international relations, policy-making, and cooperation on transnational challenges such as cybersecurity, and digital governance.
Building on the foundations of science diplomacy, the course positions AI not only as a strategic technology under diplomatic negotiation, but also as a complex socio-technical stack spanning materials, data, models, semiconductor manufacturing, computing infrastructure, communications, applications, deployment, and governance. Participants will analyze how AI systems are designed, scaled, and governed across borders, and how these processes influence geopolitical competition, regulatory debates, scientific collaboration, and technological sovereignty.
The course also investigates the role of AI as both an object and an instrument of diplomacy. On the one hand, it addresses questions of ethics, standards, safety, regulation, and power asymmetries in the global AI ecosystem. On the other, it considers how AI tools are reshaping diplomatic practice itself, from data analysis and strategic foresight to negotiation support and evidence-based decision-making.
Through case studies, scenario-building, and interactive discussions, participants will gain insight into how scientists, engineers, policymakers, and diplomats engage with the full AI value chain in order to navigate complex global issues. The course emphasizes interdisciplinary and practice-oriented approaches, highlighting both tensions and opportunities at the intersection of AI, scientific cooperation, and international affairs.
By the end of the course, participants will develop a critical understanding of how full-stack AI is both transforming science and tech diplomacy and being transformed by international relationships, and acquire conceptual and practical tools to engage effectively in this emerging field.
Learn more here: https://www.stgs.fau.de/ai4gov-x/science-diplomacy-and-ai/