CTP213 | Technology and Politics

Technology has become central to the organisation of modern socio-political life. Digital technology, guided by the almost omnipresent internet, with rapid developments in artificial intelligence and machine learning, is at the forefront of such transformations. This course intends to introduce participants to the various challenges and possibilities at the intersection of technology and politics.

This course has a quadripartite focus. The first part of the course will examine how internet technologies are transforming the modern political space with discussions on technology-led transformations in political campaigns and mobilisations, new modes of citizenship and participation in cyberspace. Secondly, it will explore the changing paradigms of governance and welfare guided by digital technologies in modern societies and the hurdles posed by the inherent biases and inadequacies of these technologies. Thirdly, the course will focus on significant challenges digital technologies pose to the modern nation-state concerning national security, crime prevention, and protecting individual freedoms and privacy. The fourth and concluding segment will examine the various regulatory frameworks designed and implemented by different nation-states to tackle such issues and the potential for improvements.

The course derives its conceptual strength from discussions of state authority and intervention in matters of welfare and security integral to the discipline of Political Science. It aims to provide participants with analytical skills and a critical normative lens to examine, cope with and be part of the current era’s crucial and rapid technological developments.