About
I am the Richard Perry Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, where I also serve as Director of Perry World House. I am a Senior Fellow for Technology and Innovation at the Council on Foreign Relations and an Adjunct at the RAND Corporation.
My research focuses on military innovation and the diffusion of military power, emerging technologies and international security, artificial intelligence and national security, and the role of leaders in international politics. I use quantitative and experimental methods alongside qualitative approaches.
From 2022 to 2024 I served in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, first as Director of the Emerging Capabilities Policy Office and then as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Development and Emerging Capabilities, for which I received the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal. I am currently a Commissioner on the Global Commission on Responsible Artificial Intelligence in the Military Domain.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
AI & Technology
"Morally Opposed? A Theory of Public Attitudes and Emerging Military Technologies"
"Bending the Automation Bias Curve: A Study of Human and AI-based Decision Making in National Security Contexts"
"Adopting AI: How Familiarity Breeds Both Trust and Contempt"
"Algorithms and Influence: Artificial Intelligence and Crisis Decision-making"
"COVID-19 and Public Support for Autonomous Technologies"
"What Influences Attitudes about Artificial Intelligence Adoption: Evidence From US Local Officials"
"Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence: Evidence from a Survey of Machine Learning Researchers"
"Do Emerging Military Technologies Matter for International Politics?"
"When Speed Kills: Autonomous Weapon Systems, Deterrence, and Stability"
"Artificial Intelligence, International Competition, and the Balance of Power"
"Public opinion and the politics of the killer robots debate"
Drones & Weapons
"To Compete or Retreat: The Diffusion of Precision Strike"
"Who Gets Smart? Explaining How Precision Bombs Proliferate"
"What is a military innovation and why it matters"
"Do Armed Drones Reduce Terrorism? Evidence From 18 Countries"
"Climbing the Ladder: Explaining the Vertical Proliferation of Cruise Missiles"
"Who is Prone to Drone: Analyzing the Proliferation of Armed Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles"
"The Consequences of Drone Proliferation: Separating Fact From Fiction"
"Droning On: The Proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Military Innovation"
Leaders & Conflict
"Military Attitudes on the Chemical Weapons Taboo: Evidence from the Pacific Theater"
"Honor Among Thieves: Understanding Rhetorical and Material Cooperation Among Violent Non-State Actors"
"Leadership Targeting and Militant Alliance Breakdown"
"What makes Foreign Policy Teams Tick: Explaining Variation in Group Performance at Geopolitical Forecasting"
"Sizing Up the Adversary: Leader Attributes, Credibility, and Reciprocation in International Conflict"
"Studying Leaders and Military Conflict: Conceptual Framework and Research Agenda"
"Tactical Diversity in Militant Violence"
"Domestic Signaling of Commitment Credibility: Military Recruitment and Alliance Formation"
"How Prior Military Experience Influences The Future Militarized Behavior of Leaders"
"Allying to Kill: Terrorist Intergroup Cooperation and the Consequences for Lethality"
"When Leaders Matter: Rebel Experience and Nuclear Proliferation"
"Non-State Actors and the Diffusion of Innovations: The Case of Suicide Terrorism"
"When Does Aerial Bombing Work? Quantitative Empirical Tests, 1917–1999"
Working Papers
"Out of the Loop: How Dangerous is Weaponizing Automated Nuclear Systems?"
With Joshua A. Schwartz · Revise and resubmit
"Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and the Future of Strategic Stability"
Under review
"Driving Too Fast or Too Slow? Explaining Military Adoption of the Combustion Engine"
With Laura Resnick Samotin · Under review
"Artificial Intelligence and International Security"
With Ben Buchanan, Sarah Kreps, and Erica Lonergan · APSA edited volume
"Automation Bias in the Military: An Experimental Approach"
With Lauren Kahn and Laura Resnick Samotin
Defense Innovation (book manuscript)
Draft completion expected Fall 2026