AI Meets World, Part One

After decades of seeming like another sci-fi catchphrase, artificial intelligence (AI) is having its moment. Some experts predict that AI will usher in an era of boundless productivity and techno-utopia; others see a new realm of great-power competition and the end of humanity. Nearly all agree that AI will change the world. But will it be for the better?

Play Button Pause Button
0:00 0:00
x
Host
  • Gabrielle Sierra
    Director, Podcasting
Credits

Asher Ross - Supervising Producer

Markus Zakaria - Audio Producer and Sound Designer

Molly McAnany - Associate Podcast Producer

Episode Guests
  • Sebastian Mallaby
    Paul A. Volcker Senior Fellow for International Economics
  • Janet Haven
    Executive Director, Data & Society, Member, National AI Advisory Committee to the White House

Show Notes

Over the next couple of years, artificial intelligence (AI) could change the nature of work, with an increasing number of jobs at risk of automation. Over the next decade, it could transform international security as militaries incorporate AI-powered weapons. And over the next century, it could drastically alter the way societies operate, and the role of people within them. 

 

These are just a few of the ways AI could change the world, and some reverberations from the AI boom are already being felt. Analysts see risks in both the present and the future, as well as the potential for global benefits. At stake is nothing less than the future of labor, national security, and people’s livelihoods across the globe.

 

 

From CFR

 

Catherine Powell and Alexandra Dent, Artificial Intelligence Enters the Political Arena,” Women Around the World

 

Merve Hickok and Marc Rotenberg, Artificial Intelligence and Democratic Values: Next Steps for the United States,” Net Politics


 

From Our Guests

 

Janet Haven, “A New Executive Order Ties Equity in AI to a Broader Civil Rights Agenda,” Data & Society: Points

 

Janet Haven, “ChatGPT and the Future of Trust,” Nieman Lab

 

Sebastian Mallaby, The Power Law: Venture Capital and the Making of the New Future, Penguin Press


 

Read More

 

How to Worry Wisely About Artificial Intelligence,” The Economist

 

John R. Allen and Darrell M. West, “How Artificial Intelligence Is Transforming the World,” Brookings Institution

 

Jacques Bughin, Michael Chui, Raoul Joshi, James Manyika, and Jeongmin Seong, “Notes From the AI Frontier: Modeling the Impact of AI on the World Economy,” McKinsey Global Institute

 

Statement on AI Risk,” Center for AI Safety


 

Watch and Listen

 

Artificial Intelligence and Great Power Competition, With Paul Scharre,” The President’s Inbox

 

Noah Berman and James Long, “How Artificial Intelligence Could Change the World,” CFR.org

 

 

*Disclaimer: The views expressed by Janet Haven were made in her individual capacity and do not represent the views of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee or its subcommittees, the National Institute of Science and Technology, the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of State, the Attorney General, the Office of National Intelligence, the Initiative Office, the President, or the Department of Commerce.

Trade

Global trade tensions are boiling over and questions about the United States’ economic future are at the center of the debate. As trade experts question what comes next, it’s important to analyze how the United States got to this point. How have the current administration’s trade policies of today reshaped the global order of tomorrow?

U.S. Trade Deficit

The United States has had a trade deficit, meaning we import more than we export, for the past fifty years. But recently the trade deficit has become a front-burner issue for President Donald Trump and a core reason for his administration’s sweeping tariff policy. When do trade deficits become a problem? Is the United States already at the tipping point?

Trade

With allies and adversaries alike impacted by new economic barriers and tariffs, the global map of U.S. trade relationships hangs in question. As the U.S. rethinks its commitments with its trading partners, allies may seek deals elsewhere, even with historic rivals. Can the president single-handedly tear up a trade deal, and what happens when deals that took decades to craft are suddenly up for renegotiation?

Top Stories on CFR

Immigration and Migration

The White House’s latest travel ban imposes restrictions on citizens from nineteen countries. Many of those affected are contending with crises at home.

United States

America’s oldest military service turns 250 on Saturday. If you see an active duty, former, or retired member of the Army, wish their service a happy birthday.

Economics

There is too much talk about the dollar’s role as a reserve currency and too little talk about expectations of exceptional returns. Reserve accumulation hasn’t driven the financing of the U.S. current account deficit in recent years.