I recently published with my co-author Maxime Ricard an article on security brokers in West Africa. Our goal was to have a reflexive analysis about our intermediaries in the field and on some performative effects occurring with the security frames of the international programs but also of academic research.
Just because I was curious, I asked Bard, the Artificial Intelligence experiment by Google, the following question : What do you think about the article published in Globalizations by Bencherif & Ricard on security brokers ?
The answer of Bard surprised me. It is honestly a quite balanced answer. Here the answer :
“I think the article published in Globalizations by Bencherif & Ricard on security brokers is a valuable contribution to the literature on security in the Sahel. The authors provide a comprehensive overview of the role of security brokers in the region, and they identify a number of challenges that these actors face.
One of the strengths of the article is its focus on the political economy of security in the Sahel. The authors argue that security brokers are not simply neutral actors who provide security services. They are also embedded in the political and economic networks of the region, and they can play a role in shaping the dynamics of conflict and security.
Another strength of the article is its analysis of the challenges that security brokers face. The authors identify a number of factors that can make it difficult for security brokers to operate effectively, including the lack of transparency and accountability, the proliferation of armed groups, and the competition between different security providers.
Overall, I think the article by Bencherif & Ricard is a well-written and informative piece of scholarship. It provides a valuable contribution to the literature on security in the Sahel, and it raises important questions about the role of security brokers in the region.
Here are some of the key takeaways from the article:
Security brokers are a key actor in the provision of security in the Sahel.
Security brokers are not neutral actors, and they can play a role in shaping the dynamics of conflict and security.
Security brokers face a number of challenges, including the lack of transparency and accountability, the proliferation of armed groups, and the competition between different security providers.
The article concludes by calling for more research on the role of security brokers in the Sahel. I think this is an important call, and I hope that future research will build on the work of Bencherif & Ricard to further our understanding of this important topic.”
Of course, we can observe some repetitive sentences and the first and last sentences are very vague, but to be honest not necessarily more vague than an average essay….
So, my thoughts rapidly about this strange experience. Of course, it is just my opinion right now on my interactions with Bard:
1) Bard can be an auxiliary tool for research, even in social sciences, but only an auxiliary/supplementary tool not the only one. Students, scholars, analysts still need (unfortunately or not ;)) to read to think about a topic. Even if we are at the early stages of a research, reading is important, notably to ask more precise questions to Bard in an iterative way…Furthermore, exchanges and discussions are still very powerful to explore topics and discover new research avenues. Dialogues with Bard are funny but limited right now… I still prefer my colleagues and students :).
2) Reading academic works, novels, opinion pieces etc. are important because it can stimulate our creativity. Exploring is important. Accepting to take time to think through our readings too. Using in an extensive way ChatGPT or Bard (or any tools like them) can be tricky because it can lead to become lazy in our abilities to connect dots and to be creative.
3) Reflexivity is the awareness of our positionality. Contextualizing means being able to create a dialogue between texts, elements, data etc. Contexts and reflexivity will always need human analysts to think them.
4) Finally, Bard said that our scientific article on security brokers in West Africa is interesting, right ? So why not reading our article if you are a scholar/analyst/student working on the field ;p ? Joke aside, I am pretty sure you are going to notice quite rapidly that your thoughts are going further on the topic than the analytical summary of Bard… And you know why ? Because of your knowledge that you already acquired and the experiences and interactions that you have day to day.
Adib Bencherif & Maxime Ricard (2023) ‘Speak of the devil and he shall appear’: unpacking the practices of security brokers in West Africa, Globalizations, DOI: 10.1080/14747731.2023.2225308