Navigating National Security in the age of AI

·20 min·2 clips

Anya Manuel reveals how AI could help terrorists create biological weapons with PhD-level coaching.

The episode begins with host Andrew Schwartz introducing the topic of AI and national security, referencing a new report by the Aspen Strategy Group. Guest Anya Manuel, Executive Director of the Aspen Strategy Group, explains the group's bipartisan composition and its summer meeting focused on AI's dark side for national security. She outlines key risks: AI's intersection with cyber threats, chemical and biological weapons, and autonomous weapons, noting examples from the Ukraine conflict. Manuel argues for urgent, narrowly focused AI safety testing of large language models, comparing it loosely to FDA drug trials, and mentions voluntary testing by companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. The conversation shifts to U.S.-China competition, with Manuel stating U.S. leads in large language models but China excels in areas like computer vision, surveillance, and drones. She lists critical technologies including semiconductors, 5G/6G, biotechnology, and fintech, where China is ahead in some. Manuel critiques U.S. policy, highlighting underfunded basic R&D in the CHIPS Act and the need for better university access to compute resources. She assesses congressional understanding of AI as less partisan on national security aspects. The discussion touches on Henry Kissinger's view of future conflicts over data and ongoing U.S.-China track two dialogues on AI. Finally, Manuel addresses AI's role in election security through deepfakes and misinformation, warning of eroding public trust, and concludes with the Aspen Strategy Group's role in fostering bipartisan problem-solving on technology issues.

As heard by us

A clear policy-minded guide to AI, technology competition, and the security choices around both.

Artificial intelligence enters this PlayNext review as a question of infrastructure, competition, and judgment. Andrew Schwartz's conversation with Anya Manuel, Executive Director of the Aspen Strategy Group and Aspen Security Forum, gives Intelligent Defense a clear policy…

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Why you'd press play

You will hear AI and national security zoom out into a broader technology race, from chips and export controls to 5G, 6G, biotech, fintech, and China competition.

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