finelybook
AI Use Cases for Public Diplomacy: Applying AI to Public Affairs and Strategic Communication
Author(s): Don Kilburg (Author)
- Publisher Finelybook 出版社: Chapman and Hall/CRC
- Publication Date 出版日期: September 28, 2026
- Edition 版本: 1st
- Language 语言: English
- Print length 页数: 266 pages
- ISBN-10: 1041008376
- ISBN-13: 9781041008378
Book Description
AI Use Cases for Public Diplomacy reveals how AI is reshaping the landscape of public diplomacy―and how it can aid diplomats in the contest for hearts and minds.
Every day, embassies monitor narratives, craft messages for divided publics, counter disinformation, respond to crises, and build coalitions across cultural and linguistic divides. These are high-stakes tasks, performed under time pressure, with imperfect information. Now, AI is transforming that challenge. Retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer Dr. Don Kilburg draws on more than two decades of frontline diplomatic experience. Through ten richly detailed chapters, a consistent narrative framework (the fictional Republic of Z), and nearly two hundred sources, he shows how AI can expand diplomatic reach, sharpen timing, and sustain credibility while confronting the ethical dilemmas head-on.
This book is essential reading for diplomats, embassy staff, politicians, and public communicators who are ready to act on the greatest lesson the AI revolution teaches us: credibility can no longer be faked, only earned.
Editorial Reviews
Editorial Reviews
Review
“This is the book I wish I could have handed to the diplomatic academies I have trained over the past decade. Dr. Kilburg has achieved something rare: a work rigorous enough for scholars and practical enough for Monday morning.”
Corneliu Bjola, Ph.D., Professor of Digital Diplomacy, University of Oxford
“Should be required reading for any diplomat grappling with the complexity of artificial intelligence and the modern information environment.”
Xander Vagg, AI and National Security Professional; Former Defense Consultant
“Don Kilburg gives current and future public diplomacy practitioners a much-needed guide to what is happening in AI at this moment and how to best use AI in reaching foreign publics. His examples show how AI is and can be deployed in the field, as well as the potential pitfalls if diplomats rush to automate too much, too soon and do not consider cultural context, language nuance, ethics, and the need for human oversight. The casual reader or researcher who wants to learn more about the art and science of public diplomacy will also find the vignettes a good peek into both the everyday considerations and the emergencies embassies face.”
Robin Holzhauer, Retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer and Senior Editor, Diplomatic Diary
“Very timely. AI tools are already shaping how public diplomacy is practiced, often faster than policies, training, or institutional norms can keep up. Practitioners are experimenting in real time, while also dealing with deepfakes, synthetic media, and faster-moving narrative cycles. This book meets the field exactly where it is right now… It gives readers a practical way to think about how AI can support core public diplomacy functions (listening, messaging, monitoring, engagement, evaluation) while also being honest about the risks and tradeoffs.”
Alexander Hunt, Public Affairs Professional and Recipient of the Ameri Prize for Innovation in Public Diplomacy
About the Author
Don Kilburgis a retired U.S. diplomat, experimental psychologist, and U.S. Army veteran with over 25 years of public service. His Foreign Service career spanned five continents, four languages, and postings from East Asia to the former Soviet Union, including service as Spokesperson for the Bureau of Energy Resources and Press Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. A pioneer of AI adoption at the State Department, his innovations earned him multiple Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards. He is the author of AI Use Cases for Diplomats (Routledge 2025) and Founder & CEO of Mind Leap Institute.
