Information Disorder and Global Politics: How Technology is Reshaping International Relations
The global information environment is undergoing a profound transformation. News today comes as much from citizen reporting and social media feeds as from newspapers and journalists. Algorithms amplify false, misleading, or emotionally activating content, leading to echo chambers and increased polarization.
While in theory, the democratization of information could expand citizens' knowledge and insight, in practice, we live in an era of "information disorder" that could upend global politics. In the Pacific Views Talk for Fall 2026, Julia Morse (Political Science) examines how information disorder is changing conflict and cooperation alongside developments in AI, and recommends how policymakers might respond to such challenges.
Julia C. Morse is Associate Professor of Political Science at UCSB and the author of The Bankers' Blacklist (Cornell University Press, 2022). Her research examines international organizations, compliance, and the politics of information, including contestation and disinformation in the AI age.
She is currently co-authoring a book Damage Control: Lies, Evasions, and the Cost of Breaking International Law, and also serves as a non-resident fellow at the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, where she co-directs the AI Upskilling for Social Scientists program. Prior to academia, Morse worked as an FBI intelligence analyst and a foreign affairs officer at the US Department of State. She is a 2025–2026 UCSB Public Voices Fellow.
Morse will deliver a presentation that is approximately 45-minutes, followed by a Q&A session.
This event may be photographed or recorded.
Advance registration is recommended as space is limited.
More Information
Debra Herrick, “How information disorder shapes global politics,” The Current, 2026.
