Progress vs. Security: Dual-Use Technology Development

Emerging technologies hold immense potential to advance science, health, security, and economic growth. Yet the same tools that enable scientific breakthroughs and commercial applications may also be used in military or harmful contexts. This dual-use potential raises important questions about research security, scientific ethics, and technological governance. From biotechnology innovations such as gene editing to advanced data systems and AI breakthroughs, safeguarding innovation without stifling collaboration has become a global challenge.

Join us for a timely discussion with the MIT Science Policy Review as we explore the security of dual-use technology development, including:

• How can we balance rapid technological progress with adequate research and security standards?
• What opportunities and risks do biotechnology and AI tools pose in dual-use contexts?

• How can we protect research openness and international collaboration while ensuring national security?

Speakers:

• Dafna H. Rand, PhD, is a Robert E. Wilhelm Fellow, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor and the author of the first State Department Learning Agenda. Previously, she directed the U.S. State Department’s Office of Foreign Assistance, overseeing $70 billion in annual U.S. foreign aid. Rand has held multiple positions in the U.S. government, including Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, member of the Secretary’s Policy Planning staff, and National Security Council official. 

• Jaclyn Kellon is a Director of Global Policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), where she is responsible for supply chain security.  Jaclyn previously served as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation’s Office of Critical Technology Protection (ISN/CTP), advising on semiconductor and research security policy, at the U.S. Department of State. 

• Vincent W.S. Chan is the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Chair Professor of MIT EECS Department and the Artificial Intelligence & Decision Making Sector of the Schwarzman College of Computing. A 2024 IEEE Thomas Edison Medal recipient, he has been Chair of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Defense Communications and Networks, Chair of the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Advisory Committee, and a member of the Intelligence Science Board. In 1989, he led the first “Dual-Use Technology Investment” to establish industry-government consortiums. His research focuses on optical networks, cognitive heterogeneous network management and control, resiliency and security.
   

Moderator:

• Diana Zhu is the Chief Executive Officer of MIT Science Policy Review and a PhD candidate in the MIT Department of Political Science and affiliated with the Center’s Security Studies Program. She specializes in international relations and quantitative methods. Her research interests center around topics of international cooperation, with a focus on inter-state technology cooperation and patterns of foreign aid. 

This seminar will be held in E40-496 (Pye Room). Lunch will be available. Please RSVP here. 

Contact Kate Danahy at kdanahy@mit.edu with any questions. 

This event is part of the CIS Global Research & Policy Seminar Series and is co-sponsored by the MIT Science Policy Review. Join our mailing list here to learn about upcoming seminars in the series.