Research & Analysis

Papers

Peer-reviewed style research articles.
Research article
EPIC-PP-2026-001 · AI Governance · 20 October 2026

Borrowed Certainty: The AI Risk That Feels Like Relief

The prevailing picture of AI risk is a picture of error: the machine is wrong and we are misled. This paper argues that a more insidious risk lies in relief. A fluent, confident answer relieves the discomfort of not knowing, and…

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Research articleUnder peer review
EPIC-PP-2026-002 · Extremism & Political Islam · 20 October 2026

Lethal Certainty: A Philosophy of Extremism Without Religion

Public debate about terrorism keeps asking which religion is to blame. This article argues that the question is badly posed. Terrorism is better explained by a structure of belief called lethal certainty: certainty that has…

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Research article
EPIC-PP-2026-007 · AI Governance · 20 October 2026

Algorithmic Shura: Consultation, Consent, and the Advice–Decision Distinction in Public-Sector AI

When artificial intelligence (AI) systems rank, flag, and recommend inside public administration, the philosophically interesting question is not only whether their outputs are accurate but where advice ends and authoritative…

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Research article
EPIC-PP-2026-009 · Gulf Strategy · 20 October 2026

Data Sovereignty Without Borders: Gulf States and the Geopolitics of AI Compute

Gulf states are racing to host artificial intelligence (AI) compute on their own soil while remaining deeply dependent on foreign chips, cloud platforms, and export-control regimes. This study examines that paradox as a strategic…

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Research article
EPIC-PP-2026-010 · AI Governance · 20 October 2026

The Algorithmic Wasta: AI Hiring and the Remaking of Social Capital in Gulf Labour Markets

This article develops the concept of algorithmic wasta to explain how artificial intelligence (AI) hiring tools remake social capital in Gulf labour markets, where intercessory networks have long shaped access to jobs, promotion,…

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Research article
EPIC-PP-2026-011 · AI Governance · 20 October 2026

Words They Never Said: Generative Griefbots, Posthumous Attribution, and an Islamic Ethics of Speaking for the Dead

Chatbots built from the messages, voice recordings and posts of people who have died are now sold as aids to mourning. Most ethical discussion of these "griefbots" asks whether they help or harm the bereaved, or whether the…

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Research article
EPIC-PP-2026-012 · AI Governance · 20 October 2026

Whose Arabic? Diglossia, Dialect Gaps and Representational Justice in Arabic Large Language Models

Arabic is spoken by hundreds of millions of people, but it is not one variety. Arabic speakers write and speak formally in Modern Standard Arabic and live much of their lives in regional dialects that differ widely from it and…

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Flagship research
EPIC-PP-2026-014 · Extremism & Political Islam · 20 October 2026

Entryism by Due Process: The Muslim Brotherhood in Europe and the Self-Defence of Democratic Institutions

The Muslim Brotherhood presents European democracies with a problem their constitutional traditions were not built to solve. Founded in Egypt in 1928 as a political project, it has operated in Europe for decades through…

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Flagship research
EPIC-PP-2026-015 · AI Governance · 20 October 2026

Authority Without Office: Machine Judgement and the Missing Appointment in Public Decision-Making

Public debate about artificial intelligence in government usually asks whether machine outputs are accurate, fair or explainable. This paper asks a prior question: by what right does a machine output bind anyone? Drawing on…

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Flagship research
EPIC-PP-2026-016 · Aviation & Air Connectivity · 20 October 2026

The Last Word in the Cockpit: Automation, Pilot Authority and the Ethics of Shared Control

Commercial aviation is the outstanding success story of human-machine collaboration. Between the decades 2006–2015 and 2016–2025 the worldwide commercial jet fleet's fatal accident rate fell by 60 per cent while departures grew…

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