AI Essentials and Geopolitics introduces students to the key ideas, tools, and global implications of artificial intelligence (AI). The module provides a non-technical, low-code/no-code foundation in how AI systems and large language models (LLMs) work, giving students hands-on experience with accessible AI applications for research, writing, and analysis. Delivered through a compact series of lectures, it combines conceptual and ethical understanding of AI with insights from global politics, diplomacy, and governance. Students explore how governments, companies, and international organisations use AI to influence policy, power, and security worldwide. Through an independent project, students apply both conceptual and practical learning to examine real-world cases of AI in international affairs. The module equips students with critical AI literacy, practical digital skills, and analytical tools for responsibly engaging with emerging technologies in global contexts.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Explain the key concepts, methods, and ethical debates that underpin artificial intelligence and its role in global politics.
Demonstrate practical AI literacy by using selected low-code or no-code AI tools, including large language models (LLMs), to support research, communication, and analysis.
Analyse how governments, international organisations, and private actors deploy AI technologies to shape power, policy, and global governance.
Apply conceptual and practical insights to produce a critical evaluation of a real-world case study involving AI in international affairs.
Assessment
Assessment Methods & Exceptions
Assessment:
1. Case Study Report – 75% 2,500-word written coursework 2. Critical Reflection – 25% 1,000-word reflection
