Dennis Murphy
PhD candidate, International Affairs, Science, and Technology
Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Tech
Technology, Economic Statecraft, International Security
I am a PhD candidate in International Affairs, Science, and Technology at Georgia Tech’s Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, where I study the material foundations of artificial intelligence and what they mean for international security. My dissertation seeks to answer how and under what circumstances frontier AI affects the balance of military power between the United States and China. During my PhD candidacy, I have had the opportunity to further my research at a wide variety of world renown institutions.
Before starting my PhD I earned a Master of Law in Chinese Politics and Foreign Policy from Tsinghua University in Beijing and a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies and International Economics from Johns Hopkins SAIS, following a BA in International Studies from American University and an AA at Middlesex Community College. During my PhD studies, I also completed a graduate certificate in Aerospace Systems. My work bridges topics related to technology, security, China studies, and political economy.
I am currently supported through the Georgia Tech Research Institute’s Graduate Research Fellowship program. In addition, I am also a Predoctoral Fellow in International Security at Harvard’s Belfer Center, a Graduate Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Risk and Security Lab, and a Security Fellow at the Frontier Security Institute. I have held research positions with the RAND Corporation, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s Center for Global Security Research, Cambridge ERA, the O’Brien Notre Dame International Security Center, and the Astra Program hosted in Berkeley.
My writing has appeared in the Journal of Cyber Policy, Survival, the AIAA SciTech Forum, the Daily Beast, Strategy Bridge, and the Conversation.
Affiliations
- Predoctoral Fellow in International Security, Belfer Center, Harvard University
- Graduate Research Fellow, Georgia Tech Research Institute
- Security Fellow, Frontier Security Institute
- Graduate Fellow, UC Berkeley Risk & Security Lab
- Cognitive Security Task Force Member, Stanford HAI
- Adjunct Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation
- Technology Policy
- International Security
- Economic Statecraft
- AI Security
- Compute Governance
Dissertation Committee
Research
Journal Articles
- Earlier iterations of this work were presented at: "Governing AI in a Free Society," Journal of Cyber Policy Paper Workshop, Georgia Tech Internet Governance Project, February 2025; 2025 Summer Graduate Conference, George Mason IHS, May 2025; American Political Science Association, September 2025
- An earlier iteration of this work was presented at: "The 4th Industrial Revolution, the US Industrial Base, and Great Power Competition," Carnegie Corporation of New York, Washington, DC, December 2022
Preprints and Proceedings
- Earlier iterations of this work were presented at: Briefing to the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Atlanta, October 2022; NATO AVT-369 Research Symposium (with Alicia Sudol and Matthew French), October 2023
RAND Reports
- CDAO Responsible AI Workforce DevelopmentNOT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE
- An earlier iteration of this work was presented at: "CERN For AI? Three Visions," RAND Summer Seminar, August 2024
- An earlier iteration of this work was presented at: "Critical Infrastructure Wargame Research Support," RAND Summer Seminar, Washington, DC, August 2023
- An earlier iteration of this work was presented at: "Critical Infrastructure Wargame Research Support," RAND Summer Seminar, Washington, DC, August 2023
Conference Papers
- Have We Been Here Before? Second Mover Advantages in China's AI Market
- Losing the Race? China's Compute Indigenization Efforts
- Generating Geopolitics: Generative Artificial Intelligence and International Security
Recent Employment
- The Georgia Institute of Technology
- Graduate Research Fellow with the Georgia Tech Research Institute — Conducted dissertation research under Jon Lindsay and Courtney Crooks related to geopolitics and frontier AI, U.S.-China competition, and military applications
- Graduate Teaching Assistant for the Geopolitics of Cybersecurity — Served as a GTA alongside Daniel Fernandez and Helen Dong under Jon Lindsay for the PUBP 8823: The Geopolitics of Cybersecurity online masters course
- Graduate Teaching Assistant (Co-Instructor) for Special Projects — Served as a GTA under Seymour Goodman for the Special Topics in Computer Science course CS 4803/8803: Critical Infrastructures Security and Resilience course in the School of Cybersecurity and Privacy.
- Graduate Research Assistant to Adam Stulberg — Supported a Minerva funded project to explore all-domain coercion, particularly with regards to Russia and Ukraine prior to and during the invasion.
- Harvard University, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
- Predoctoral Fellow in International Security
- Frontier Security Institute
- Research Fellow — Frontier AI and National Security
- O'Brien Notre Dame International Security Center
- Hans J. Morgenthau Predoctoral Fellow in Grand Strategy
- Astra Program at Berkeley
- National Security Policy and AI Governance Research Fellow — Collaborated with IAPS on Military Applications of Frontier AI Systems, Operational Decision Support Systems
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Center for Global Security Research
- Graduate Research Associate — Geopolitics of AI, U.S.-China Tech Competition re: Computing Resources, Deterrence
- Cambridge University ERA AI Governance Fellowship
- AI Governance Research Fellow — AI Governance and International Security, China's Approach to AI Risk
- RAND Corporation
- Adjunct Policy Researcher — Truth Decay and DoD Workforce Development, with Dave Luckey and Ray Block
- Summer Associate — CERN for AI and Related TASP Research, with Matthew Sargent and Mary Lee
- Adjunct Summer Associate Extension — TASP Background Research, with Brodi Kotila
- Summer Associate — Inverted Rook Critical Infrastructure Wargame, with Rich Girven and Brodi Kotila
- II Corps and Marine Corps University
- Northeast Asia Subject Matter Expert — Revised and reorganized Marine Corps University's introductory PME book for Northeast Asia
Presentations & Talks
- Chokepoints in the Global Semiconductor Supply Chain
- China's AI Advantages
- Deep Ignorance: You Can Filter Away CBRN Risks
- Critical Uncertainties in China's Approach to AI Safety and Escalatory Risks
- The Market for Fakes: Authenticity and Uncertainty in AI-Enabled Disruption of Signaling in International Politics
- The White Horse Lord: Gongsun Zan and the Early Medieval Transition
- North American Telecommunications Modernization
- Assessing US-China Relations
Teaching
- Morgenthau Grand Strategy Seminar — "Export Controls, Economic Statecraft, and Grand Strategy"
- Online Masters Program — "Geopolitics of Cybersecurity"with Jon Lindsay
- Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience — "The Polar Silk Road"with Seymour Goodman and Saman Sonouz
- Special Topics in Computer Science — "Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience"with Seymour Goodman
- Projects Course with State Department Policy Planning Bureau — "Wicked Challenges to US Security"
- Whittier Elementary Guest School Teacher — "PeaceKidz Seminar"
Professional Development
- Graduate Student Fellowship, Georgia Tech Research Institute
- Predoctoral Fellowship in International Security, Harvard Belfer Center
- Graduate Research Fellow, UC Berkeley Risk and Security Lab
- Hans J. Morgenthau Predoctoral Fellowship in Grand Strategy, O'Brien Notre Dame International Security Center
- Summer Workshop on the Analysis of Military Operations and Strategy
- Bridging the Gap NEW Era Workshop
- International Policy Scholars Consortium and Network Junior Scholars Program
- Council on Foreign Relations Young Policy Professionals Briefing Series
- Clements Center Summer Seminar in History and Statecraft Fellowship
- UC San Diego Nuclear Threats and Public Policy Boot Camp
Public Writing
- An earlier iteration of this work was presented at: "Minerva Initiative Research Support on Russian Coercion and Great Power Competition," Briefing to the Deputy Director of Naval Intelligence, Atlanta, December 2021