On the morning of April 15, 2022, the Center for International Security and Strategy (CISS) of Tsinghua University held the 2nd student-scholar workshop, where CISS fellows Dong Ting and Miao Zhengming and members of the Tsinghua University Student Association of International and Strategic Studies (SAISS) were invited to discuss information warfare in international conflicts and ways to keep track of the dynamics of technology and China-US relations. The virtual/onsite event was moderated by CISS Deputy Director Xiao Qian.

With the theme of “Ways to Follow the Dynamics of Technology and China-US Relations,” Dr. Dong Ting focused on mainstream analyses of how technology has affected China-US ties amid the shift of America’s attitude toward China from the perspective of international relations theories. She believes that Western theories has established technology—a union of tools and purposes—as a source of a country’s hard and soft power, equating the purposes of technology with value legitimacy, which has led to the “black box” of technology on the one hand, and the absence of discussion on purposes on the other.

Presentation by Dr. Dong Ting

Dr. Miao Zhengming shared his presentation titled “Application of Deepfakes in Cyber Information Warfare,” in which he analyzed the key characteristics and essence of information warfare from a technical perspective. Taking the Russia-Ukraine conflict as an example, he summarized four characteristics of information warfare: integrated physical and cyber spaces, multi-actor engagement, a longer span of competition, and the variety of modes of attack. He then explained how deepfakes are used in information warfare and the potential risks to international politics and public opinion. Information warfare, said Dr. Miao in his conclusion, often boils down to a wrestle over awareness, which could potentially reshape human cognition and behavior in the future.

Presentation by Dr. Miao Zhengming

The presentations led to an intensive discussion between the speakers and students from different majors, furthering the richness of the workshop, which achieved successful results as the young audience found the creative and insightful topics helpful for them to develop new perspectives and foster interdisciplinary and strategic thinking in their research.

The workshop