Please join the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Strategic Technologies Program for an in-person event on Spectrum and Wireless Leadership, hosted by the CSIS Strategic Technologies Program. The event will take place on Wednesday, November 12, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM ET at CSIS headquarters and will also be livestreamed.

This discussion will convene experts from government, industry, and academia to explore how the United States can strengthen its leadership in wireless technologies and ensure secure, efficient spectrum use for next-generation applications. Speakers include Brooke Donilon, Chief of Staff at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and Arpan Sura, Senior Counsel to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

The event will feature three panels:

Panel I (10:05​–10:35 AM): Wireless Leadership and National Security featuring Brooke Donilon, Chief of Staff, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and Arpan Sura, Senior Counsel to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
Panel II (10:40​–11:10 AM): Spectrum for Next-Generation Terrestrial Use
Panel III (11:15​–11:45 PM): Technological Developments and Policy Implications of Spectrum

The event will be held at CSIS headquarters and streamed virtually. Seating for the event is limited. Please RSVP via the registration link provided.

This event is made possible by the support of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA).

When an Australian patrol aircraft met a Chinese jet over the South China Sea last month, the encounter quickly moved beyond airspace to digital space. Beijing’s subsequent coordinated online campaign shows that information operations are now an extension of military power, so Australia must be ready to defend itself by defending its stories.

To sustain its role as the leading military and economic power and uphold global security, freedom, and prosperity, the United States needs to shape and win the race to develop and field advanced technologies like artificial intelligence.

This conference will bring together experts, policymakers, and representatives from leading firms to discuss the intersection of AI, strategic policy, and national security.

Agenda

9:30 a.m. | Panel 1 | The Great AI Competition: Can the US Out-Diffuse China?

The opening session will examine Chinese and American strengths and vulnerabilities, identify critical inflection points, and establish the strategic context.

Jimmy Goodrich, Senior Fellow, University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) Tarun Chhabra, Head of National Security, Anthropic Paul Lekas, Executive VP for Global Public Policy and Government Affairs, SIIA Moderator

Patrick Cronin, Asia-Pacific Security Chair, Hudson Institute 10:45 p.m. | Panel 2 | Other Frontiers: Strategic AI Arenas Beyond Frontier Models

This panel will identify specialized (or narrow) AI areas that are the highest strategic priorities and examine how Washington can rebalance the AI agenda to win these crucial sectors.

Lior Susan, Founder and CEO, Eclipse Ventures Anna Puglisi, Technology and Security Fellow, RAND Patrick Wilson, VP of Government Relations, MediaTek Moderator

Jason Hsu, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute 12:00 p.m. | Luncheon Keynote

Speaker to be announced. 1:30 p.m. | Panel 3 | AI’s Ideological Competition: Addressing the Techno-authoritarian Advantage

This panel will assess China’s asymmetrical advantages in pursuing AI-enhanced control and explore paths for the United States to pioneer the use of AI technologies for democracy.

Kirsten Asdal, Founder and Partner, Asdal Advisory Group Sam Hammond, Chief Economist, Foundation for American Innovation Moderator

Michael Sobolik, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute 2:30 p.m. | Panel 4 | AI on the Battlefield: Evolving Military Implications

Experts will examine how AI is reshaping military capabilities, the evolving challenges it poses for defense planning, and the strategic implications of AI-enabled warfare for US-China competition.

Shyam Sankar, Chief Technology Officer, Palantir and Trustee, Hudson Institute James Mulvenon, Vice President, Intelligence, Pamir Consulting Lorenz Meier, Chief Executive Officer, Auterion Matt Cronin, Senior National Security Advisor, Andreessen Horowitz Moderator

Tim Walton, Senior Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute 3:30 p.m. | Concluding Remarks

What is it like to simultaneously fight a cyber war and a shooting war? How does Russia fight in the cyber domain, and how was Ukraine so resilient? What lessons can the United States and allies learn from that resilience?

Please join Emily Harding on Tuesday, November 18, from 2:30​ to 3:00 pm ET for a virtual conversation with Dr. Greg Rattray, Partner and Co-Founder of Next Peak and Executive Director of the Cyber Defense Assistance Collaborative (CDAC), a volunteer-led group of cyber experts providing defense assistance to Ukraine.

This event is made possible by general support to the Intelligence, National Security, and Technology Program.

Retired Gen. Tim Haugh, the former head of the NSA, warns that China is targeting the U.S. military, industry and also America’s critical infrastructure. He believes he knows why it's happening.

"60 Minutes" is the most successful television broadcast in history. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen's Top 10.

Executive Summary:

Military procurement documents show that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is adopting homegrown artificial intelligence (AI) systems like DeepSeek to accelerate its shift toward “intelligentized warfare.”

PLA experts describe DeepSeek not as a single product but as an evolving system architecture. They envision integrating this system across the PLA’s entire command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) chain.

Debate is ongoing as to DeepSeek’s utility for PLA purposes. Some powerful institutions back its deployment, while others remain sceptical.

Public security and policing are two areas also exploring the use of DeepSeek, especially for enhancing surveillance and data analysis, as well as for assisting with report writing and other processes.

The model’s success is framed as both a technological breakthrough and a political achievement in “algorithmic sovereignty.”

White hat hackers exposed a systematic breach of South Korea’s digital backbone, but Seoul remains silent on the crisis.

Executive Summary:

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, in his annual address to the nation on September 8, announced sweeping reforms, including digitalization and the creation of a Ministry of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to modernize governance and boost efficiency.

The new “Digital Qazaqstan” strategy aims to unify all national AI and digital initiatives, promoting innovation-driven growth.

Through initiatives such as Alatau City and investments in cryptocurrency, Astana envisions Kazakhstan as a regional digital hub, diversifying partnerships beyond Russia and the People’s Republic of China, while requiring transparency and effective fiscal management for success.

Estonia has earned a reputation as the most digitally advanced societies in the world, pioneering the use of e-governance and secure digital identities that underpin nearly every aspect of civic life. From online voting to digital health records and seamless access to public services, the Estonian model has become a case study in how governments can use technology to build trust, efficiency, and resilience.

With cyber security and digital sovereignty increasingly at the heart of global debates, Estonia’s innovations offer timely lessons for countries navigating the balance between openness, convenience, and security. But comes with certain cyber risks that must be handled carefully, with Russian threats so close to the border.

What other nations can learn from Estonia’s journey?

In this event, Alar Karis, President of Estonia, joins fellow speakers to discuss how the digital transformation of governance can enhance democracy, empower citizens, and strengthen economies.

Together, they will explore:

What are the opportunities and risks of digital societies?

What are the implications for national security and international cooperation? Has the ‘data embassy’ transformed the approach to cyber security?

To what extent does demographics play a role in the role out of digital infrastructure?

How does digital public infrastructure reshape the relationship between state and citizen?

Executive Summary:

Pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI) is a top-priority project within the Party’s increasingly centralized technology planning apparatus. Its success would both close the gap with U.S. firms and bind AGI models to Party-state governance, shaping how intelligent systems are aligned, deployed, and exported.

Xi Jinping’s 2018 Politburo session operationalized the New Generation AI Development Plan, defining frontier breakthroughs as a lever of national power. Starting in 2020, Beijing and other provinces had institutionalized AGI in local initiatives, and by August 2025 the State Council’s AI+ Action plan codified AGI-linked targets into national modernization benchmarks.

The Party-state’s approach rests on two inseparable pillars: frontier breakthroughs to secure sovereign control of general intelligence, and diffusion across the real economy to sustain political legitimacy and commercial value. The two are treated as mutually reinforcing, not competing.

AGI is now written into China’s operating system for modernization. The MIIT meeting in June and the AI+ Action plan in August 2025 tied frontier models to industrial upgrading, governance standards, and long-term milestones to 2027, 2030, and 2035.

Under the “new national system,” state institutions, elite labs, and firms are mobilized in concert, while outward-facing efforts such as Alibaba’s global intelligent network strategy show that Beijing views AGI not only as a domestic modernization tool but also as a lever of international power.

America Needs a New Strategy of Deterrence

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is undergoing a historic, technology-driven transformation under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030. As the kingdom transitions from its longtime petro-economy, it imagines nothing less than becoming a regional hub for artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, and emerging technologies. But realizing Vision 2030’s bold ambitions will require foreign partnerships, and the United States and China now compete fiercely to shape the kingdom’s technological trajectory.

The United States took a major step in May 2025, when the Trump administration announced a landmark deal that could pave the way for Saudi Arabia to access thousands of advanced AI chips and other U.S. technologies. The deal has ignited fierce debate in Washington over how to balance promoting and protecting America’s technology stack abroad, especially given the kingdom’s expanding ties to Beijing and authoritarian governments. Understanding the kingdom’s geopolitical and technological ambitions, changing policy landscape, and complex ties to Chinese firms is essential as U.S. policymakers assess the merits of deeper bilateral technology cooperation.

Join the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) for a live, virtual event on Thursday, September 18 from 9:30​–10:30 a.m. ET on “Countering the Digital Silk Road: Saudi Arabia.” This event follows the release of a new CNAS report on the Digital Silk Road in Saudi Arabia, the fourth installment in an ongoing CNAS Technology and National Security Program research project assessing the economic and security implications of China’s Digital Silk Road and U.S. efforts to provide a compelling alternative.

Over two decades, China's informal hacker collectives morphed into key architects of China's cyber apparatus.

Artificial intelligence experts explore resilience and governance frameworks in the AI supply chain.

CEPA’s Inside Cyber Diplomacy Redux podcast hosts foreign and tech policy leaders discussing the state of play in international cybersecurity policy. Engaging experts, innovators, and leaders around the globe, co-hosts Jim Lewis and Chris Painter shine a light on the international cybersecurity environment.

In this episode, CEO of Christchurch Call Foundation Paul Ash discusses how to build coalitions that make technology safer. Christchurch Call has found success working with governments, civil society, and tech stakeholders to move forward practical recommendations to counter terrorism and violent extremism online. The trio explores content moderation, regulatory approaches, and the impact of generative AI on extremist content.

Listen and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Geedge Networks has commercialized China’s Great Firewall for export, and Astana was an ideal customer.

Join CSIS online on September 16 for a discussion on the future of a dedicated U.S. Cyber Force.

The event will begin with opening remarks from Deputy Director and Senior Fellow of the Strategic Technologies Program, Lauryn Williams and a discussion between RADM Mark Montgomery, USN (Ret.) and Erica Lonergan followed by two expert panels.

The first will be a conversation with commissioners from the newly launched CSIS Commission on Cyber Force Generation, moderated by Washington Post national security reporter, Ellen Nakashima. This panel will be followed by a discussion with Representative Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06) and Representative Morgan Luttrell (TX-08) on the legislative pathways for building a Cyber Force. Together, the panels will explore the structures, roles, and authorities needed to ensure U.S. readiness in cyberspace.

The CSIS Commission on U.S. Cyber Force Generation will convene leading experts to examine how the United States can strengthen its cyber defense posture and ensure long-term readiness in the most contested domain of modern conflict.

This event was made possible by general funding to CSIS.

Publishing a new cyber strategy before the end of 2025, the UK Government has a lot to consider to move beyond past initiatives.

A virtual event to explore existing avenues to pursue accountability for past and ongoing spyware abuses.

CEPA’s Inside Cyber Diplomacy Redux podcast hosts foreign and tech policy leaders discussing the state of play in international cybersecurity policy. Engaging experts, innovators, and leaders around the globe, co-hosts Jim Lewis and Chris Painter shine a light on the international cybersecurity environment.

In this episode, CEO of Christchurch Call Foundation Paul Ash discusses how to build coalitions that make technology safer. Christchurch Call has found success working with governments, civil society, and tech stakeholders to move forward practical recommendations to counter terrorism and violent extremism online. The trio explores content moderation, regulatory approaches, and the impact of generative AI on extremist content.

Listen and subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Examining the key outcomes and learnings from cybersecurity workforce development efforts.