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Tom F.A Watts

Tom F.A Watts

Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy, Royal Holloway University of London
My research focuses on American foreign policy and international security. I am particularly interested in the study of remote warfare, autonomous weapon systems, great power competition, and the evolution of American counterterrorism policy after 9/11.

My research has made a major contribution to the study and conceptualisation of remote warfare. Published with the journal Defence Studies in 2021, I co-edited the Remote Warfare and Conflict in the Twenty-First Century special issue – the first on this concept – with Dr Rubrick Biegon and Dr Vladmir Rauta. I have also published articles on the remoteness of remote warfare, the role of remote warfare in the retooling of American primacy following the Iraq War, and whether remote warfare is a buzzword. Other articles have examined the change and continuity in Donald Trump’s counterterrorism policy as well as the neoconservative legacy on the "forever war".

Another strand of my research examines the US’ approach to the development and possible regulation of autonomous weapon systems. Alongside Dr Ingvild Bode, I have co-authored major policy reports on the use of autonomy in air defence systems and loitering munitions. Bringing the growing study of AI narratives into greater dialogue with the International Relations literature on popular culture and world politics, we have also unpacked the repository of different stories told about intelligent machines in the first two Terminator films and examined their relationship to the global regulatory debates on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems.

The Terminator at 40: this sci-fi ‘B-movie’ still shapes how we view the threat of AI

Oct 25, 2024 12:16 pm UTC| Entertainment

October 26, 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of director James Camerons science fiction classic, The Terminator a film that popularised societys fear of machines that cant be reasoned with, and that absolutely will not...

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Economy

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Science

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Technology

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