International relations: technology and new materialism

Abstract

The current thesis, attempts to analyze the wide range of theories covered and developed by new materialism, to highlight its relationship with historical materialism and mainly its interdependence with technology and its evolution. New materialism, as emphasized in the thesis, is a theory that has not yet encountered its limits. There is a lot of scope in modern complexity for new theories in the context of new materialism to be developed, especially in areas where it does not have a strong presence. Modern technology is evolving at an unprecedented pace. The technological breakthroughs which almost every day occur, trigger effects, that are difficult to be understood by the human brain at the same velocity as technology progresses. In the current thesis, the differences and the connections between robotics, artificial intelligence and the human Species are highlighted. The paper also underscores the importance which will be given to AI in the near future, and the pivotal role which it will play in society – almost in its every aspect – in the future It is also being emphasized. Nonetheless, every part of technology has a material characteristic, either tangible or intangible. These materials come to life as they participate actively in people’s lives and influence their actions and their thoughts. Many questions that arise in the thesis relate to whether the new technologies will provide people with better means of living, or if they will just worsen the current position of the people, who in many circumstances will not understand the change. The current thesis sheds light to such cases. More specifically, in the introduction of the thesis, a historical overview is provided of the role of technological discoveries in the evolution of societies. Examples from ancient Greece and the Roman Empire highlight the change brought about by technological developments. The second chapter presents theories and views that compose the complex theory of new materialism. Methods of analysis through classical materialism continue to be highly topical today and are identical in several respects with the approaches of new materialism. The next chapter focuses on the importance and role of modern technologies in international relations and particularly in war. Drones and artificial intelligence change the balance of power and, therefore, all the powerful countries are competing with each other for the production and deployment of the most state-of-the-art weapons. This section also highlights the differences between humans and autonomous robots. Chapter 5 deals extensively with the effects on people and international relations of the use of modern technology by secret services. In the final part of the thesis, the association of all aspects analyzed becomes crystal clear, namely, the new materialism approaches and the evolution of technology with international relations.