2025 International Speaker Series
Navigating Global Challenges in Technology
Thursday, June 26, 2025 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm | Virtual
About the Event
The Vermont Council on World Affairs’ 2025 International Speaker Series will examine how shifting policies and priorities will influence the role the United States plays in global affairs, from technological advancements and economic resilience to trade dynamics and diplomatic strategy.
This session is part of a four-part series that will bring together thought leaders, policymakers, and experts to explore how the new administration will impact key global issues and what these changes mean for Vermont and the world.
As technology continues to shape economies, security, and daily life, the U.S. plays a pivotal role in setting global standards. This session will explore the relationship between the government and private businesses and the real-world implications of these relationships.
We’ll look at navigating new rules and regulations, the role of artificial intelligence, and the delicate balance between national security, economic growth, and ethical governance.
Speakers
Nazli Choucri
Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Nazli Choucri is a Professor of Political Science, Senior Faculty at the Center for International Studies (CIS), and Faculty Affiliate at the MIT Institute for Data, Science, and Society (IDSS). She focuses on cyberpolitics and computational social sciences in international relations—exploring emergent dynamics in three overarching “spaces” of 21st century politics, i.e. (i) traditional geo-political arena, (ii) natural environment, and (iii) constructed domain of cyberspace. She examines sources of conflict and threats to security, on the one hand, and strategies for sustainability and global accord, on the other. She is the author and/or editor of twelve books, most recently Cyberpolitics in International Relations (2012) and International Relations in the Cyber Age: The Co-Evolution Dilemma, with David D. Clark (2019).
Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Professor Choucri is the architect and Director of the Global System for Sustainable Development (GSSD), an evolving knowledge system centered on sustainability problems and solution strategies. She created and directs CyberWorld@MIT and the related knowledge and networking system CyberIR@MIT. Both initiatives are rooted in the cyber-inclusive view of international relations introduced by the MIT-Harvard project on Explorations in Cyber International Relations (ECIR), for which she was Principal Investigator.
Moderated by:
Michael Igoe
Senior Reporter, Devex
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet.
Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.