34 MAY-JUNE 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FOCUS AI IN DIPLOMACY While many in Washington, D.C., still debate whether artificial intelligence belongs in diplomacy, other countries are already putting it to work. We are seeing AI developed for use in diplomatic operations worldwide—from chatbots assisting overseas citizens with emergency support to AI-driven policy planning tools, to massive cross-national data platforms modeling bilateral relationships. Here’s the catch: Much of this innovation happens outside the United States. If we are serious about AI-powered diplomacy, whether for national competitiveness, operational resilience, or global development leadership, we need to look beyond our borders—to not If we are serious about AI-powered diplomacy, we need to look beyond our borders and learn from our strategic partners and competitors. BY VIRGINIA BLASER Virginia Blaser retired after 34 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, where she served four tours as a deputy chief of mission and principal officer, including five years as chargé d’affaires. She is the author of The Manager’s Workbook: Six Worksheets for the Evaluation Cycle, available for free on Amazon, and the co-author (with retired FSO Don Kilburg) of AI Use Cases for Consular Affairs: Smarter Passports, Visas, and Border Security, forthcoming from Routledge. She now works on leadership development and the practical use of emerging technology in government and international organizations. Editor’s Note: This article was originally submitted in 2025. Since then, AI adoption across governments has continued to accelerate. The examples below are intended as illustrative of broader global trends in the use of AI across diplomatic, consular, and humanitarian operations, rather than as news of the latest developments. Beyond Borders What U.S. Diplomats Can Learn from Global AI Innovation only assess risk or benchmark ourselves but also learn how our strategic partners and competitors are managing the technology. The Global Field Lab Diplomacy remains a profession shaped by precedent. We read cables from prior posts, study past communiqués, and interpret protocol through the lens of tradition. But AI shifts the ground beneath that entire model. When data moves faster than deliberation, and the tools that sort, translate, and predict are built with black-box algorithms, relying solely on precedent will no longer suffice. Fortunately, there is a field lab already running—with other governments doing smart, sometimes bold, often replicable, work. Here are just a few examples that deserve attention. In Estonia’s “KrattAI” initiative, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pairs its digital infrastructure with AI tools for everything from real-time translation to document authentication.
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