Artificial Intelligence, Governance and Cybersecurity: Implications for National Security Policy

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly reshaping the structures and processes of governance and transforming the domain of cybersecurity, thereby redefining the conceptual and practical foundations of national security policy. Unlike earlier waves of digitalization, AI introduces algorithmic decision-making, predictive analytics, and autonomous systems into core governance functions, including policy formulation, service delivery, surveillance, and cyber defense. This paper examines the intersection of AI, governance, and cybersecurity from an interdisciplinary perspective grounded in political science, governance studies, and national security studies. It argues that AI constitutes not merely a technological instrument but a transformative governance force that reconfigures state capacity, sovereignty, power relations, and security practices. Drawing upon classical and contemporary literature from Indian and international scholars, the study adopts a qualitative, analytical methodology based on documentary analysis of academic texts, policy documents, and national cybersecurity strategies. The paper contends that national security in the digital age must be reconceptualized beyond military paradigms to include digital infrastructure resilience, information integrity, algorithmic accountability, and institutional legitimacy. It concludes that effective national security policy requires integrated governance frameworks that embed AI within ethical norms, legal safeguards, and democratic oversight mechanisms.