Dr James Johnson
Dr James Johnson
Lecturer
- About
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Biography
Dr James Johnson is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Strategic Studies in the Department of Politics and International Relations. He is also an Honorary Fellow at the University of Leicester, a Non-Resident Associate on the ERC-funded Towards a Third Nuclear Age Project, and a Mid-Career Cadre with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Project on Nuclear Issues. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor at Dublin City University, a Non-Resident Fellow with the Modern War Institute at West Point, and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, CA. He holds a PhD in Politics and International Relations from the University of Leicester. Before entering academia, he worked in the financial sector, mainly in China, and is fluent in Mandarin.
His research examines the intersection of nuclear weapons, deterrence, great power competition, strategic stability, and emerging technology – especially artificial intelligence. His work has been featured in Journal of Strategic Studies, The Washington Quarterly, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Defence Studies, European Journal of International Security, Asian Security, Pacific Review, Journal for Peace & Nuclear Disarmament, Defense and Security Analysis, RUSI Journal, Journal of Cyber Policy, Journal of Military Ethics, War on the Rocks, and other outlets.
He is the author of The US-China Military & Defense Relationship During the Obama Presidency (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018), Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Warfare: USA, China & Strategic Stability (Manchester University Press, 2021), and AI and the Bomb: Nuclear Strategy and Risk in the Digital Age (Oxford University Press, 2023). His latest book project is The AI Commander: Centaur Teaming, Command, and Ethical Dilemmas – under contract with Oxford University Press.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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- Co-Director of Strategic Studies
- Social Sciences PG Committee, Member
- Social Sciences Research Committee, Member
- PIR PG Staff Student Liaison Committee, Member
- PIR PG Exam Board Committee, Member
- Personal Tutor
- External Memberships
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- Honorary Visiting Fellow, University of Leicester
- Non-Resident Associate, "The Towards a Third Nuclear Age: Strategic Conventional Weapons and the Next Revolution in the Global Nuclear Order," European Research Council (ERC) funded project
- Mid-Career Cadre, Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), Project on Nuclear Issues
- British International Studies Association, Member
- International Studies Association, Member
Latest Publications
AI and the Bomb: Nuclear strategy and risk in the digital age
Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. 288 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] OUP Website
The AI Commander Problem: Ethical, Political, and Psychological Dilemmas of Human-Machine Interactions in AI-enabled Warfare
Journal of Military Ethics , vol. 23, no. 3-4, pp. 246-271Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570.2023.2175887
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/20286/1/AI_Commander_Problem_2023_.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
The US, Indo-Pacific, AI and Emerging Security Technologies
Routledge Handbook of US policy in the Indo-Pacific. Turner, O., Aslam, W., Nymalm, N. (eds.). RoutledgeChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersInadvertent Escalation in the Age of Intelligence Machines: A new model for nuclear risk in the digital age
European Journal of International Security , vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 337-359Contributions to Journals: ArticlesCounterfactual Thinking & Nuclear Risk in the Digital Age: The Role of Uncertainty, Complexity, Chance, and Human Psychology
Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 394-421Contributions to Journals: Articles
- Research
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Research Overview
- Strategic studies
- Artificial intelligence & future warfare
- Great power strategic competition
- Deterrence theory & strategic stability
- Political & cognitive psychology
- Nuclear weapons policy
- Nuclear non-proliferation & arms control issues
Current Research
Latest book project: The AI Commander: Centaur Teaming, Command, & Ethical Dilemmas (Oxford University Press, under contract).
Abstract: What do emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) mean for the role of humans in war? This book addresses the largely neglected question of how the fusion of machines into the war machine will affect the human condition of warfare. Specifically, it investigates the vexing, misunderstood, and at times contradictory, ethical, moral, and normative implications—whether incremental, transformative, or revolutionary—of synthesizing man and machine in future algorithmic warfare—or AI-enabled ‘centaur warfighting.’
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
- Co-Director of Strategic Studies
- Nominated for the 2022 Excellence Award for Best Postgraduate Teaching
- Publications
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AI and the Bomb: Nuclear strategy and risk in the digital age
Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. 288 pagesBooks and Reports: Books- [ONLINE] OUP Website
The AI Commander Problem: Ethical, Political, and Psychological Dilemmas of Human-Machine Interactions in AI-enabled Warfare
Journal of Military Ethics , vol. 23, no. 3-4, pp. 246-271Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15027570.2023.2175887
- [OPEN ACCESS] http://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/2164/20286/1/AI_Commander_Problem_2023_.pdf
- [ONLINE] View publication in Scopus
The US, Indo-Pacific, AI and Emerging Security Technologies
Routledge Handbook of US policy in the Indo-Pacific. Turner, O., Aslam, W., Nymalm, N. (eds.). RoutledgeChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersInadvertent Escalation in the Age of Intelligence Machines: A new model for nuclear risk in the digital age
European Journal of International Security , vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 337-359Contributions to Journals: ArticlesCounterfactual Thinking & Nuclear Risk in the Digital Age: The Role of Uncertainty, Complexity, Chance, and Human Psychology
Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 394-421Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAutomating the OODA loop in the age of intelligent machines: reaffirming the role of humans in command-and-control decision-making in the digital age
Defence Studies, vol. 23, no. 1Contributions to Journals: ArticlesDelegating strategic decision-making to machines: Dr. Strangelove redux?
The Journal of Strategic Studies, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 439-477Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2020.1759038
Does the United States face a multipolar future? Washington's response through the lens of technology
National perspectives on a multipolar order. Zala, B. (ed.). 1st edition. Manchester University Press, pp. 26-40, 15 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersArtificial intelligence and the future of warfare: The USA, China, and strategic stability
Manchester University Press, London, UK. 240 pagesBooks and Reports: Books‘Catalytic nuclear war’ in the age of artificial intelligence & autonomy: Emerging military technology and escalation risk between nuclear-armed states
The Journal of Strategic StudiesContributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2020.1867541
Deterrence in the age of artificial intelligence and autonomy: a paradigm shift in nuclear deterrence theory and practice?
Defense & Security Analysis, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 422-448Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14751798.2020.1857911
Emerging Technologies and Chinese Challenges to US Innovation Leadership
Emerging Technologies and International Security. Steff, R., Soare, S., Burton, J. (eds.). 1 edition. Routledge, pp. 29-48, 20 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367808846
Artificial intelligence: a threat to strategic stability
Strategic Studies Quarterly, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 16Contributions to Journals: ArticlesArtificial intelligence in nuclear warfare: a perfect storm of instability?
The Washington Quarterly, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 197-211Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0163660X.2020.1770968
Artificial intelligence, drone swarming and escalation risks in future warfare
RUSI Journal, vol. 165, no. 2, pp. 26-36Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2020.1752026
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03071847.2020.1752026
The AI-cyber nexus: implications for military escalation, deterrence, & strategic stability
Journal of Cyber Policy, vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 442-460Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/23738871.2019.1701693
The end of military-techno Pax Americana? Washington’s strategic responses to Chinese AI-enabled military technology
Pacific Review, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 351-378Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2019.1676299
Artificial intelligence and future warfare: implications for international security
Defense & Security Analysis, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 147-169Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14751798.2019.1600800
China’s Vision of the Future Network-Centric Battlefield: Cyber, Space and Electromagnetic Asymmetric Challenges to the United States
Comparative Strategy, vol. 37, no. 5, pp. 373-390Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01495933.2018.1526563
Chinese evolving approaches to nuclear “war-fighting”: an emerging Intense US-China security dilemma and threats to crisis stability in the Asia Pacific
Asian Security , vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 215-232Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2018.1443915
The 2019 UK PONI Papers: VIII. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Strategic Stability, Escalation, and Nuclear security
London, UK: Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies. 5 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned ReportsChina’s Vision of the Future Networked Battlefield: Emerging Military-Technological Challenges to the United States
The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International PublishingChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersChinese Evolving Approaches to Nuclear ‘War-Fighting’: An Emerging Security Dilemma?
The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International PublishingChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersConceptualizing the United States--China Security Dilemma
The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International PublishingChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersIntroduction: Obama’s ‘Pivot’ to Asia and Air-Sea Battle
The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International PublishingChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersThe US-China military and defense relationship during the Obama presidency
Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY. 198 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksWashington’s Perceptions and Misperceptions of China’s Anti-access Area Denial ‘Strategy’
The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International PublishingChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters‘Guam Express’ and ‘Carrier Killers’: China’s Asymmetric Missile Threat to the United States in the Pacific
The US-China Military and Defense Relationship during the Obama Presidency. Springer International PublishingChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersChina's “Guam Express” and “Carrier Killers”: The Anti-Ship Asymmetric Challenge to the US in the Western Pacific
Comparative Strategy, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 319-332Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] https://doi.org/10.1080/01495933.2017.1361204
- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01495933.2017.1361204
China’s Nuclear Modernisation:: The Evolution of Chinese Nuclear Doctrine, Strategic Ambiguities & Implications for Sino-U.S. Relations
Nuclear Politics in Asia. Kouhi Esfahani, M., Mohammadi, A. (eds.). 1st edition. Routledge, 20 pagesChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters- [ONLINE] Nuclear Politics in Asia
The US-China Military and Defence Relationship during the First Obama Administration 2009-2013: Deteriorating Military Relations in the Asia Pacific, Washington’s Strategic and Military Responses and Security Dilemma Explanations
University of Leicester.Other Contributions: Other ContributionsWashington's perceptions and misperceptions of Beijing's anti-access area-denial (A2-AD) ‘strategy’: Implications for military escalation control and strategic stability
Pacific Review, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 271-288Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09512748.2016.1239129
