The Impact of Big Data and Emerging Technologies on National Security, Intelligence Production, and Decision Making

Data and emerging and disruptive technologies are creating friction in the processes of national security decision making. These technologies are challenging some of the fundamental principles and practices of intelligence, notably those of secrecy, sovereignty (or nationality), and sharing. More broadly, the digital landscape has also created new social harms which are – or need to be – considered by decision makers as national security threats or vulnerabilities and which require new models of threat and harm assessment to address. Responding to these challenges, this seminar explores Dr Miah Hammond-Errey’s research on the impact of big data and emerging technologies on national security, intelligence production, and decision making. It also considers some short- and long-term futures in our radically changing information environment.

Speaker: Dr Miah Hammond-Errey is the Director of the Emerging Technology Program at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Dr Miah Hammond-Errey’s work explores the intersections of emerging technologies and security. She hosts the Technology & Security podcast, where she is joined by global experts to talk technology, security and leadership. Dr Miah Hammond-Errey has published extensively on technology, intelligence, national security, and information warfare including for USSC, Lowy, ASPI, Foreign Policy, and mainstream media as well as academic and military press. Her forthcoming book is called Big Data, Emerging Technologies and Intelligence: National Security Disrupted.

Chair: Professor Toni Erskine is Professor of International Politics in the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University (ANU) and Associate Fellow of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at Cambridge University. She is Chief Investigator of the Defence-funded ‘Anticipating the Future of War: AI, Automated Systems, and Resort-to-Force Decision Making’ Research Project and a Chief Investigator and Founding Member of the ‘Humanising Machine Intelligence’ Grand Challenge at ANU. She also currently serves as Academic Lead for the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific/Association of Pacific Rim Universities ‘AI for the Social Good’ Research Project and in this capacity works closely with government departments in Thailand and Bangladesh.

This seminar series is part of a two-year (2023-2025) research project on Anticipating the Future of War: AI, Automated Systems, and Resort-to-Force Decision Making, generously funded by the Australian Department of Defence and led by Professor Toni Erskine from the Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs.

If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan please contact the event organiser.