International Security and Disruptive

Technologies

Session XIII
 Outline
• What is the future of international security ?
• What are disruptive technologies ?
• Are there new horizons of war which are emerging ?
• How to control and manage these new challenges which are neither in traditional
nor in non-traditional domain?
• Is it the dawn of nuclear catastrophe in cyber domain?
• Is the study of international security needs a theoretical revamp or a larger debate?
• Is the sovereignty question taken into a new domain?
Video to see - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU_fHqXbAq8
 Disruptive Technology
• A disruptive technology is one that displaces an established technology and
shakes up the industry or a ground-breaking product that creates a completely
new industry. Harvard Business School Professor Clayton M. Christensen coined
the term disruptive technology.
• International community is shifting from traditional military and economic
power to nations' ability to harness technological power.
• 3D printing is transforming global supply chains, allowing customization and
manufacturing of all items anywhere, anytime. Advances in bioinformatics will
customize medicine for human health.
• The list of benefits technology allows is endless, but the dark side must also be
considered. 
• Possible nefarious military applications, both for conventional arms as well as for
novel areas such as biochemical weapons, in the hands of state and non-state
actors.
 Disruption through Innovation
• The personal computer (PC) displaced the typewriter and forever
changed the way we work and communicate.
• The Windows operating system's combination of affordability and a
user-friendly interface was instrumental in the rapid development of
the personal computing industry in the 1990s. Personal computing
disrupted the television industry, as well as a great number of other
activities. 
• Email transformed the way we communicating, largely displacing
letter-writing and disrupting the postal and greeting card industries. 
• Cell phones made it possible for people to call us anywhere and
disrupted the telecom industry.
 Cont’d
• The laptop computer and mobile computing made a mobile workforce
possible and made it possible for people to connect to corporate networks
and collaborate from anywhere. In many organizations, laptops replaced
desktops. 
• Smartphones largely replaced cell phones and PDAs and, because of the
available apps, also disrupted: pocket cameras, MP3 players, calculators
and GPS devices, among many other possibilities. For some mobile users,
smartphones often replace laptops. Others prefer a tablet.
• Cloud computing has been a hugely disruptive technology in the business
world, displacing many resources that would conventionally have been
located in-house or provided as a traditionally hosted service. 
• Social networking has had a major impact on the way we communicate and
-- especially for personal use -- has disrupted telephone, email, instant
messaging and event planning. 
 Cont’d
• Digital disruption is the change that occurs when new digital technologies and business
models affect the value proposition of existing goods and services.
• Quantum Photonic Sensing and Security (QPSS) program will help translate scientific
leadership into technology development and prototypes in select high-impact
applications of cyber-security, natural resources sensing and security sensing.
• Nano-bots and mini drones
• Emerging technologies – advanced manufacturing, automation and the Internet of
Things among others – are proving to be key disruptive drivers of the future.
• Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things(IOT)-a necessary evil having dual use
• Both civilian and defence purposes
• Data mining and mapping of Behavioural aspects of individuals.
• Development in nano-materials and sciences.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI), next generation telecommunications (5G/6G), Internet of
Things (IoT), quantum computing, synthetic biology, blockchain and big data
The 100 Technologies
• The 100 technologies-divided into four groups. Horizon one technologies (green
on the table) are new technologies that are happening right now. Companies
should be integrating and executing these technologies right now if they are
relevant to their business.
• Horizon two technologies (yellow)-near future technologies (10-20 years hence).
• Horizon three technologies (red) are likely to emerge in the more distant future
(20 years plus). Companies should keep an eye on developments in these areas
and explore if appropriate.
• Finally, the outer edge of the table (grey)-Ghost Technologies. This is fringe
thinking territory with some examples bordering on lunacy. However, while each
example is highly improbable none, or very few, are impossible.
• Each technology is also categorized according to one of five subjective themes
(Data Ecosystems, Smart Planet, Extreme Automation, Human Augmentation and
Human-Machine interactions).
 What Is a "Critical Technology"?

• Identifying select goods as "critical" arose in the 1920s -dependence on imports of

certain materials, vulnerability for the U.S. military. Accordingly, Congress
mandated that the U.S. maintain a strategic reserve of such "critical materials" in
order to ensure readiness in case of military conflict. 
a) “Systematized and practical, based on experimentation and/or scientific theory
b) May involve new discoveries, current knowledge, or a combination of both
c) Directed toward application or achieving a goal rather than only toward
understanding
d) Involves direct manipulation of materials or biological systems, or the
implementation of mathematical algorithms
e) Is reproducible and transferable”.
“Criticality is derived from the importance of the outputs of the system of which the technology is a
constituent part, as well as from the significance the technology has for enabling that system.”
Cont’d
 Critical Technologies
• Energy
• Energy Efficiency
Energy Storage, Conditioning, Distribution and Transmission
Improved Generation
• Environmental Quality
• Monitoring and Assessment
• Pollution Control
• Remediation and Restoration
• Information and Communications
• Components
• Communications
• Computer Systems
• Information Management
• Intelligent Complex Adaptive Systems
• Sensors
• Software and Toolkits
 Cont’d
• Biotechnology
Medical Technologies
Agriculture and Food Technologies
Human Systems
• Discrete Product Manufacturing
• Continuous Process Manufacturing
• Micro/Nano Fabrication and Machining
• Materials and Structures
• Aerodynamics
Avionics and Controls
Propulsion and Power
Systems Integration
Human Interface
 Conclusion
• Disruptive technologies –Dual aspects .
• Emerging and Critical technologies
• Creating formidable counter mechanisms and addressing governance issues
related to new technologies .
• Surveillance, privacy, warfare would need to be redefined.
• Global cooperation would be hard to come by because of problems of defining
domains and scope.
• Disruptive technologies would be a problem area for international security as the
cost of compliance would be more than the benefits .
• Human component of international security would become more pronounced.
• Biology and Biological processes.