Perry World House Hosts Conference on the Future of AI Governance and International Politics
On October 6-7, Perry World House hosted its annual security conference. This year’s topic, The Future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Governance and International Politics, brought together world-leading experts and thinkers to discuss the impact of AI on US-China competition, the use of AI in the military domain, how advances in frontier AI towards artificial general intelligence (AGI) could shape the international security environment, and avenues for international cooperation. Over the course of the two days, participants also brought up key areas for the future of ethical, social scientific, policy, and technical research in the field. Key points addressed throughout the conference included how countries and militaries are grappling with adopting a technology being driven by private sector breakthroughs, the opportunities and risks of existing AI systems for militaries, and whether AGI will yield transformational change in international politics. Participants also addressed the deep obstacles for countries to cooperate on AI development given a changing and challenging geopolitical landscape, and if shared interests between countries in preventing accidents and miscalculation could be a building block for cooperation.
The conference hosted two keynote speakers. In a virtual conference with Perry World House Faculty Director Michael C. Horowitz, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies Amandeep Singh Gill discussed the possibilities and obstacles for global cooperation and capacity building on AI, including AI standard setting, and how the UN can serve as a hub for all countries to benefit from AI. The following afternoon, Nemirovsky Family Dean of the School of the Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania Vijay Kumar spoke to the conference participants about responsible innovation from an engineering perspective.
The conference builds upon Perry World House’s longstanding work on artificial intelligence policy issues, especially through its Emerging Technologies and Global Politics project. In September 2025, Perry World House, in cooperation with the RAND Corporation, released a volume of articles on the Artificial General Intelligence Race and International Security. Under the leadership of Horowitz, who previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Development and Emerging Capabilities from 2022 to 2024, Perry World House will deepen its work on how emerging technologies like AI will shape global affairs in the years ahead.
The conference was made possible in part by Carnegie Corporation of New York.
The conference began with a roundtable discussion on what is next for research on artificial intelligence and international politics.
Chris Callison-Burch, Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania speaking on a panel on AI, chips, and U.S.-China competition.
Perry World House Distinguished Visiting Fellow Radha Iyengar Plumb moderating a panel on artificial intelligence in the military domain.
Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean, School of Engineering, University of Pennsylvania delivering his keynote, “Responsible Innovation and the Future: An Engineering Perspective.”
Perry World House Non-Resident Senior Advisor Robert M. Scher moderating a panel on artificial general intelligence and its consequences for international security.
Kevin Werbach, Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at The Wharton School discussing opportunities for international cooperation.