TABLE OF CONTENTS
While we invite readers to experience the book as a complete journey, each chapter has been designed to stand alone - feel free to jump directly to topics of immediate interest. Every chapter opens with carefully chosen quotes, drawn from my interviews with practitioners, excerpts from authors of complementary books, articles and papers I recommend, and statements from UN discussions on AI, progress, power, and peace - setting the tone and inviting reflection on each topic.
Foreword by
H.E. Eugenio V. Garcia,
Tech Ambassador,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brazil
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a key foreign policy issue over the last few years. It has steadily entered the diplomatic agenda, and it will likely remain a major topic of concern for Ministries of Foreign Affairs globally for decades to come. Changes brought about by AI development, diffusion, and adoption across the globe will undoubtedly have a tremendous impact and can reshape the digital world order as we know it.
FOREWORD
PART I
PROGRESS
AI and the Transformation of Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
Chapter 1: Through the Looking Glass of History: Understanding AI's Transformation of Diplomacy
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Infrastructure as Statecraft: From Railway Diplomacy to the AI Stack
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The Telegraph Transformation: Speed, Cost, and Control in Diplomatic Practice
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Breaking the Sound Barrier: Telephone, Radio, and the Humanization of Distance
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Broadcasting Beyond Borders: Radio and the Birth of Public Diplomacy
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Virtual Embassies Experiments: Why Technology Alone Isn't Enough
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Data Embassies: Estonia's Model and Caribbean Adaptations
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From Historical Patterns to Contemporary Imperatives
Chapter 2: The Rise of Tech Diplomacy and the Role of Tech Diplomats
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The New Diplomatic Reality: When Tech Giants Rival Nation States
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Tech Diplomacy in Practice: Developing Strategic Documents and Tech Ambassador Roles
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Different Approaches to Tech Diplomacy: From Early Pioneers to Global South Innovation
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The Evolving Role of Tech Diplomats
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The Future of Tech Diplomacy – When Every Diplomat Becomes a Tech Diplomat
Chapter 3: The AI Politician: From AI Political Parties to AI Ministers
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Personal AI Representatives and the Vision for Automated Democracy
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AI “Experiments” in Political Processes: The Rise of AI Political Candidates and AI Parties
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The World’s First AI Government Minister: When Code Replaces Cabinet Officials in State Decision-Making
Chapter 4: The AI Arms Race: The New Frontier of Geopolitical Competition
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From Sputnik to DeepSeek: Technology Shocks That Reset Power
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The Genesis of Competition: From Boardgame to Global AI Arms Race
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The AI Resource Wars: Semiconductors, Data Centers, and Talent as Strategic Assets
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Corporate Sovereigns: When Big Tech Became Geopolitical
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Algorithms and Alliances - Global South in the AI Race
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The Parallel Race: Who Writes the Rules and Sets the Standards?
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The Collaborative Alternative: How the Global South Is Reshaping AI's Future
Chapter 5: AI and Global Security: New Reality of Lethal Autonomy, Nuclear Risk and Cyber Warfare
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Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems: Why Diplomacy Can't Wait
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Seconds to Midnight: The Dangerous Convergence of Nuclear Weapons and AI Systems
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The Gray War: AI and Cyber Threats to National and Global Security
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Algorithmic Warfare: AI-Powered Disinformation as a Threat to Global Security
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Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and the Future of Global Security: Racing Toward Unprecedented Risk
Chapter 6: AI and Economic Security: Promise, Disruption, and the Battle for Sovereign AI
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AI as an Economic Transformation Force
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Between Hype and Reality: AI's Uneven Impact on Labor Markets and Global Stability
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AI Enhancing Inclusion or Widening Global Inequality
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The New Geography of Power: From Silicon Shields to Cloud Empires
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“Sovereign AI” Paradox: Between National Ambition and Technological Reality
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The Road Ahead: Redefining Economic Security in the AI Era
PART II
POWER
AI and Geopolitical Competition, Security, and Control
PART III
PEACE
AI and Crisis Management, Peacebuilding, and Governance
Chapter 7: AI and Crisis Management: From Crisis Early Warning to Agentic Diplomacy
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The Escalating Crisis and Conflict Landscape: A World on the Edge
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Forecasting in Foreign Policy and Human-Machine Collaboration
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The Promise and Challenge of AI in Crisis Prediction and Prevention
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Beyond Prediction: AI Agents and the Beginning of Agentic Diplomacy
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Charting the Path Forward: Transforming Crisis Management for the Future
Chapter 8: AI and Peacebuilding: When Satellites Witness War Crimes and Algorithms Shape Peace
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AI-Enhanced Peace Mediation and Negotiations: Navigating Algorithmic Threats and Opportunities
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Technology Transforming Human Rights Protection: Digital Witnesses, War Crimes Documentation, and Transitional Justice
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Peacekeepers in the Digital Crossfire: AI's Transformation of Modern Peace Operations
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Women, Peace, and Security Agenda and AI – Toward an Integrated Framework
Chapter 9: From Topic to Tool – How AI Tools Entered the World of Foreign Policy
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AI in Strategic Communication, Translation and Briefing Systems
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AI in Consular Services: Transforming Citizen Support Through Automation and Intelligence
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AI in Diplomatic Negotiations: From Humanitarian Aid to Trade Agreements
Chapter 10: Ethical and Governance Challenges of AI in Foreign Policy
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Black Boxes and Trojan Horses: How AI Impacts Trust and Accountability in Diplomacy
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Digital Battlegrounds: Security, Hallucinations, and Cognitive Risks
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Algorithmic Biases: From Risks of Rewriting History to Nuclear Escalation
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Governing at the Speed of Silicon: How Can Diplomacy Keep Up
FUTURE FRONTIERS
Navigating Tomorrow's AI for Foreign Policy Practitioners
This concluding chapter positions AI as an unprecedented frontier for foreign policy, synthesizing the book's themes of Progress, Power, and Peace. It argues that uncertainty about AI's impact demands active engagement rather than passive forecasting—using AlphaGo's discovery of strategies invisible to centuries of human players as a metaphor for what practitioners might uncover through experimentation. The chapter calls for a balanced disposition that rejects both techno-utopianism and techno-pessimism, emphasizing that foreign policy professionals can be architects of AI's trajectory, not passive bystanders. It concludes with a practical roadmap: develop AI fluency, bridge the technology-policy divide, invest in peace technology, and prototype diplomatic applications to help build—not just predict—the future.