ANDREW SOSANYA ’20 MAJOR: PHYSICS AND GOVERNMENT HOMETOWN: NEWARK, NJ
& WILLIAM WOHLFORTH DANIEL WEBSTER PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT
ANDREW “SOSA” SOSANYA AND PROFESSOR WILLIAM WOHLFORTH MET IN AN INTRO-LEVEL INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS CLASS. NOW, PROFESSOR WOHLFORTH IS ADVISING SOSA’S SENIOR THESIS, WHICH EXPLORES THE INTERSECTION OF ADVANCED ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS.
Sosa: I spent my first two years as a hard science major— I was always doing problem sets. Once I added government, it was really cool seeing how my mind started to think differently. I was using different parts of my brain. In physics you’re thinking of equations and visualizing things geometrically. Government is much more humanities-centric; it’s tied to the real world and gives context to history. I wanted to bridge those two worlds. They’re becoming increasingly important, as we saw with the 2016 US presidential election. Politics influences technology and vice versa. William: Sometimes you’re exposed to a question in a class and you’re unsatisfied with the answer that the experts give you. It could be that that curiosity literally has no answer yet. That’s what the research question is— it’s an attempt to apply the discipline’s strategy to answering that question. What question is Sosa’s research seeking to answer? Sosa: I’m testing a hypothesis: Is the distribution of power between political actors affected by the rise of emerging technology like artificial intelligence, big data, and quantum computing? I’m going to focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning. William: A lot of people think that the ability of machines to learn things like people do is going to totally transform the whole nature of international relations. You will not have to risk human beings to fly an airplane and intercept communications, for example. So Sosa is reading these arguments in an international relations class and he says, “These seem overstated to me. Are there any studies that apply to reconnaissance or espionage?” My answer was no, so that became the entry point. What is it like pursuing research at this level as an undergraduate? Sosa: It’s exciting and scary at the same time. The thesis is not a walk in the park by any means. The government department, especially, expects master’s-quality theses, and it makes balancing work and life at Dartmouth challenging. But that’s also exciting. Once you’re presented with a challenge,
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you’re going to learn and grow so much. I’m excited to reach new boundaries within my skillset and really delve deep into a topic I’m interested in. William: Research is a lot of hard work. The hardest part is finding a researchable topic. That’s intimidating to me, let alone a student! But nothing valuable is easy. And students should know that our job is to welcome you, whether by inviting you to our office hours or supporting you in other ways. That’s what I keep telling my advisees when they come in from high school. Office hours are for you! Sosa: I’m very grateful to Professor Wohlforth for giving his time and individual attention to helping me pursue this topic. I had the good fortune of taking a class with him early in my Dartmouth career, so it has been nice for things to come full circle with this project. I have so much to learn from him, but he’s learning about AI too — it’s a new field for everyone. Has your experience at Dartmouth changed the way you interact with the world? Sosa: It has given me a more informed perspective on what’s happening in the real world. I read things I never thought I’d read — I get updates on my phone about the Fed raising interest rates! In high school, I’d say, “So what?” Now I always find a way to apply what I’ve learned. William: That’s the thing that’s really great about Dartmouth. Students are in classrooms with professors who are doing cutting-edge research, but those professors are also totally committed to teaching. They’re in both worlds, and it helps students see how they can do research that matters. Sosa: It’s so cool to get a jump on things nobody has looked at before. I can hear and understand opinions from different sides now, and I can contribute to the dialogue myself. Something I hated about my prior academic experiences was that I was strictly a consumer of knowledge, not a producer. Here, you consume so that you can produce. It’s like watering a plant.
PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN
How did you find your way into this research project?