Show Notes
In this episode, we are joined by Chris Miller for a clear-minded and sobering discussion of the future of AI. The geopolitical competition between the United States and China in the field of artificial intelligence is the arms race of the 21st century, yet in this case, the product is self-improving. Some warn it could end humanity, while others refute these claims as exaggerations. So, what is the answer? Is the opportunity greater than the risk? What are the Chinese up to? Can they beat us? We discuss the risks, opportunities, and implications of proper regulation.
Chris Miller is a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and an associate professor at Tufts University. His latest book Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology (Scribner, 2022) is a New York Times bestseller. In addition to Chip War, Dr. Miller’s books include We Shall Be Masters: Russian Pivots to Asia from Peter the Great to Putin, Putinomics: Power and Money in Resurgent Russia, and The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy: Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of the USSR. Dr. Miller’s work has been published in History of Political Economy, the International History Review, and the Soviet and Post-Soviet Review. His commentary has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Moscow Times, and South China Morning Post, among others. He has an MA and PhD in history from Yale University and a BA in history from Harvard University and has done research at Hoover Institution, Brookings Institution, Carnegie Moscow Center and the New Economic School in Moscow.
Read the transcript here.
Subscribe to our Substack here.
More from What the Hell Is Going On
In this episode, Dr. Dominic Green joins us from the United Kingdom to discuss mounting protests and violence raging across Europe. It’s been a tumultuous month in France in particular, with Paris and other cities engulfed in fire fueled by radical groups. We examine the broader implications of this upheaval for democratic values and societal norms. Is Europe a distant issue, or a precursor to what the United States might face?
We are joined by Luke Jacobus, one of AEI’s own, to highlight how China’s spies leverage the LinkedIn networking platform to recruit Americans to pass them sensitive knowledge. MSS agents use artificial intelligence to impersonate consultants and pay U.S. clearance holders for national security information. How effective is this recruitment method? What are potential countermeasures? To what extent do private corporations shoulder the blame? Listen in on the risks that face Americans face online every day.
Jason Miyares, former attorney general for the state of Virginia, joins us to discuss Virginia’s hard political shift leftward — skyrocketing taxes, sanctuary cities — and the impact of these policies on its eight million citizens. We weigh rising crime rates, extreme constitutional amendments, and the end of purple Virginia. What the hell are the consequences of this governance? How the hell is this going to impact American citizens?
In honor of NYC’s least favorite week, we are joined by Brett D. Schaefer to analyze the ongoing United Nations General Assembly meeting. How the hell is this institution serving American interests? Together with Brett, we discuss the President’s address, weird US shenanigans, the threats to American interests posed by international governance, and the importance of U.S. oversight. The United Nations needs significant reform, but how the hell can the White House make that happen? Brett D. Schaefer is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he focuses on multilateral treaties, peacekeeping, and the United Nations and international organizations. Before joining AEI, Mr. Schaefer was the Jay Kingham Senior Research Fellow in International Regulatory Affairs at the Heritage Foundation, a member of the United Nations Committee on Contributions and an expert on the UN Task Force for the United States Institute of Peace. His work has been published in Fox News, The Hill, National Review, and National Security Journal, CNN, and CNBC, and more. Read Brett and Dany’s project on corrupt OCHA funding here. Read Brett’s reaction to Trump’s UN speech here. Read Brett’s United Nations Organizations Assessment Project here. Read the transcript here. Subscribe to our Substack here.
What the hell is happening with U.S. defense technology? Chris Brose, the President and Chief Strategy Officer of defense tech firm Anduril joins us to talk about how private defense companies are innovating and revolutionizing American national security, America’s lousy defense acquisition habits, and what we can learn from Ukraine and the war with Iran. The traditional US defense industrial base is slowly cranking out exquisite and outdated weapons. If things don’t change, we risk losing a war to China. We discuss the crucial shift towards technological advancement, what the Pentagon and Congress must do, and what this means long term for the safety and security of the American people.