Senior Lecturer
- About
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- Email Address
- james.johnson@abdn.ac.uk
- Office Address
Room G23, Edward Wright Building
- School/Department
- School of Social Science
Biography
Dr James Johnson is a Senior Lecturer and Director of Strategic Studies in the Department of Politics & International Relations at the University of Aberdeen. He is the founding Director of the Strategic Studies Network (SSN). He is also an Honorary Fellow at the University of Leicester, a Non-Resident Research Associate on the European Research Council-funded Towards a Third Nuclear Age Project, and a Mid-Career Cadre Member with the Center for Strategic and International Studies Project on Nuclear Issues. He advises various parts of the US, UK, and EU governments on AI and nuclear policy, including the US Department of Defense, the NATO Nuclear Planning Group, and the Global Commission on Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM). 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, California.
His research examines the intersection of nuclear weapons, artificial intelligence, political psychology, and strategic affairs, with a current focus on how AI decision-support systems are reshaping nuclear stability and crisis decision-making. His work has been featured in the Review of International Studies, Journal of Strategic Studies, The Washington Quarterly, Strategic Studies Quarterly, the European Journal of International Security, Pacific Review, RUSI Journal, Journal of Military Ethics, War on the Rocks, and other outlets. He is the author of The AI Commander: Centaur Teaming, Command, and Ethical Dilemmas (OUP, 2024), AI and the Bomb: Nuclear Strategy and Risk in the Digital Age (OUP, 2023), Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Warfare: USA, China & Strategic Stability (MUP, 2021), and The US-China Military & Defense Relationship During the Obama Presidency (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018). He received his PhD from the University of Leicester and is fluent in Mandarin.
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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- 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
- Non-Resident Expert, US Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Joint Staff’s Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) program
- Expert Advisory Group Member, the Global Commission on Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM), Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Security Policy Department
- British International Studies Association, Member
- International Studies Association, Member
Latest Publications
Can AI behave ethically during military crises? Preserving human moral agency
International Affairs, vol. 102, no. 1, pp. 63-83Contributions to Journals: ArticlesArtificial Intelligence and Nuclear Stability: Understanding AI’s Impact on Military Escalation Dynamics and Strategic Deterrence
The Hague: The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. 10 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned ReportsRevisiting the “Stability-Instability Paradox” in AI-enabled Warfare: A modern-day Promethean tragedy under the nuclear shadow?
Review of International Studies, pp. 1-19Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210524000767
Post-9/11 US thinking and approaches to nuclear deterrence: the Bush Doctrine and the role of nuclear weapons in US deterrence strategy
International Politics, vol. 61, no. 3, pp. 547–566Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIs there a Human in the Machine? AI and Future Warfare
War on the RocksContributions to Specialist Publications: Articles
- Research
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Research Overview
- Strategic affairs
- Artificial intelligence & future warfare
- Political psychology
- Nuclear weapons policy & non-proliferation
Current Research
Project: AI and the Future of Nuclear Stability & Crisis Decision-Making
This project addresses a critical yet underexplored threat to nuclear stability: the integration of generative AI (GenAI) and AI-enabled decision support systems (GenAI-DSS) into nuclear command-and-control architectures and their deployment in high-stakes strategic environments. Nuclear-armed states are increasingly exploring AI tools to simulate crises, forecast adversary behavior, and guide national security decision-making. While these systems promise enhanced foresight and accelerated decision processes, they also introduce novel cognitive, ethical, and institutional risks. In particular, GenAI-DSS may distort perception, generate misleading signals, and heighten the risk of miscalculation or inadvertent escalation during nuclear crises. This project seeks to diagnose these risks, develop anticipatory mitigation strategies, and inform policy frameworks before GenAI becomes deeply embedded in strategic decision-making.
Funding: This project is supported by Longview Philanthropy.
- Teaching
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Teaching Responsibilities
- Director of Strategic Studies
- Director & Founder of the Strategic Studies Wargaming Club
- Director & Founder of the Strategic Studies Network (SSN)
- Publications
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Page 1 of 6 Results 1 to 10 of 58
Can AI behave ethically during military crises? Preserving human moral agency
International Affairs, vol. 102, no. 1, pp. 63-83Contributions to Journals: ArticlesArtificial Intelligence and Nuclear Stability: Understanding AI’s Impact on Military Escalation Dynamics and Strategic Deterrence
The Hague: The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. 10 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned ReportsRevisiting the “Stability-Instability Paradox” in AI-enabled Warfare: A modern-day Promethean tragedy under the nuclear shadow?
Review of International Studies, pp. 1-19Contributions to Journals: Articles- [ONLINE] DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210524000767
Post-9/11 US thinking and approaches to nuclear deterrence: the Bush Doctrine and the role of nuclear weapons in US deterrence strategy
International Politics, vol. 61, no. 3, pp. 547–566Contributions to Journals: ArticlesIs there a Human in the Machine? AI and Future Warfare
War on the RocksContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesThe AI Commander: Centaur Teaming, Command, and Ethical Dilemmas
Oxford University Press, Oxford. 224 pagesBooks and Reports: BooksFinding AI Faces in the Moon and Armies in the Clouds: Anthropomorphising Artificial Intelligence in Military Human-Machine Interactions
Global Society, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 67-82Contributions to Journals: ArticlesProceed with Caution: Artificial Intelligence in Weapon Systems
Commissioned by House of Lords. London, UK: House of Lords. 100 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned ReportsNuclear Brinkmanship in AI-Enabled Warfare: A Dangerous Algorithmic Game of Chicken
War on the RocksContributions to Specialist Publications: ArticlesUnderstanding the Humanitarian Consequences and Risks of Nuclear Weapons: New findings from recent scholarship
Vienna: Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs Department for Disarmament. 116 pagesBooks and Reports: Commissioned Reports
