Our Projects

From Artificial Intelligence itself to its integration into weapons systems, intelligence collection and analysis, decisionmaking, and other areas, AI has the potential to radically upend our traditional ways of thinking about national security. Center scholarship and projects and analyses by our faculty and fellows, offer insight into many of the challenges posed.

The result of more than 5 years of work by more than a dozen top legal scholars, The Virginia-Georgetown Manual is intended to reflect an objective assessment of the existing law (lex lata) of the jus ad bellum, with the hope that it can serve as a ready and valuable reference for government officials, both civilian and military, as well as for academics.

The law of outer space is under stress. The prodigious growth in private-sector space activities is matched by a surge in military space activities. This includes the creation of the U.S. Space Force, the threat of Russia placing a nuclear weapon in orbit, and other countries continuing to experiment with anti-satellite weapons and techniques.

Conflict harms civilians in unthinkable ways. Around the globe, conflicts are unfolding in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere, taking an immense toll on civilian populations. Over time, conflict kills and maims individuals, results in significant psychological and social harm, causes infrastructure to decay and collapse, and is often associated with a high incidence of sexual violence, among many other harms.

The Center runs a number of projects, convenes conferences and meetings, designs simulations, and supports scholarship related to the intersection among new and emerging technologies, intelligence and counterintelligence collection, U.S. national security objectives and economic strength, and individual rights.

The Atrocity Response Coalition (ARC) for Justice is a global consortium of victim-centered, evidence-based, trauma-informed organizations working together for healing and transformative justice for survivors and communities affected by atrocities. As a founding member of ARC, CNS is partnering with preeminent global organizations and networks from different sectors and disciplines to holistically respond to violent conflict and atrocity crimes.

Developing a systems-based approach to ensure the ethical development and use of AI-enabled weapons. AI-enabled weapons pose serious potential risks to humans’ ability to control violence. Ensuring that we have evidence-based practices in place to manage these risks is necessary to mitigate them and justify their use.

The interplay between technology, innovation, and national security has never been more complex. Emerging technology allows us to create new life forms and killer robots. Giant social media companies capture what you read, what you believe, and what you do, creating the risk of surveillance, microtargeting, identity theft, and the ability to disrupt society.

“Biomanipulation,” a term coined by Professor Laura K. Donohue, poses a new and potentially dangerous form of manipulation that can undermine individual autonomy and decision-making. Data related to physiological and behavioral characteristics can be used to generate a deep understanding of an individual, allowing for highly targeted and effective manipulation.