On July 30, the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center hosted Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for a discussion breaking down the recently released AI Action Plan and discuss the Trump administration’s vision for U.S. AI leadership and innovation amid strategic competition with China.  As the thirteenth Director of the White House OSTP, Mr. Kratsios oversees the development and execution of the nation’s science and technology policy agenda. He leads the Trump administration’s efforts to ensure American leadership in scientific discovery and technological innovation, including in critical and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and biotechnology. In the first Trump administration, he served as the fourth Chief Technology Officer of the United States at the White House and as Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering at the Pentagon. Watch the full event or read the transcript here: Unpacking the White House AI Action Plan with OSTP Director Michael Kratsios 

In this special episode, we honor the life of Andrew Schwartz, Chief Communications Officer at CSIS and beloved  co-host of this podcast. Andrew was a mentor, a friend, and a tireless champion of the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center’s work. His humor, personal stories, and passion shaped this show and left a lasting impact on all of us. Our team, our community, and CSIS will miss him deeply.

In this episode, we are joined by Kyle Chan, postdoctoral researcher at Princeton’s Sociology Department and adjunct researcher at the RAND Corporation, to explore China's approach to AI industrial policy. We discuss the fundamentals of industrial policy and how it operates in China's digital technology sector (4:15), the evolution of China's AI industrial policy toolkit and its impact on companies (19:29), China's current AI priorities, protectionism strategies, and adoption patterns (47:05), and the future trajectory of China's AI industrial policy amid US-China competition (1:12:22). Kyle co-authored RAND's June 26 report "Full Stack: China’s Evolving Industrial Policy for AI," which is available here.

In this episode, we cover the Senate's vote to remove the moratorium on state AI laws from the reconciliation bill (00:38), the latest AI copyright court rulings involving Meta and Anthropic (7:38), key takeaways from the House Select Committee on China's AI hearing (20:55), and the latest developments surrounding DeepSeek, including export control impacts and military ties (27:45).

In this episode, we’re joined by Miles Brundage, independent AI policy researcher and former Head of Policy Research at OpenAI, and Chris Rohlf, Security Engineer at Meta and cybersecurity expert. We cover the fundamentals of cybersecurity today (9:20), whether AI is tipping the offense-defense balance (21:00), the critical challenge of securing AI model weights (34:55), the debate over “AI security doomerism” (1:03:15), and how policymakers can strengthen incentives to secure AI systems (1:08:46).

In this episode, we discuss the U.S. AI Safety Institute's rebrand to the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (00:37), BIS Undersecretary Jeffrey Kessler's testimony on semiconductor export controls (10:36), and Meta's new AI superintelligence lab and accompanying $15 billion investment in Scale AI (22:26). 

On June 9, 2025,  the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center hosted Ryan Tseng, Co-Founder and President of Shield AI, a company building AI-powered software to enable autonomous capabilities for defense and national security.    Mr. Tseng leads strategic partnerships with defense and policy leaders across the United States and internationally. Under his leadership, Shield AI secured major contracts with the U.S. Special Operations Command, Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy, while expanding internationally with offices opening in Ukraine and the UAE.    Watch the full event here.

In this episode, we discuss House Republicans’ proposed moratorium on state and local AI laws (00:57), break down AI-related appropriations across the executive branch (18:54), and unpack the safety issues and safeguards of Anthropic's newest model, Claude Opus 4 (26:51). Correction: In this episode, a quote was incorrectly attributed directly to Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.). The statement—“Should the provision be stripped from the Senate reconciliation bill, some Republicans are eyeing separate legislation.”—was reported by The Hill as a paraphrase of Rep. Lee’s comments.

In this episode, we discuss Princeton researcher Kyle Chan's op-ed in the New York Times on China's industrial policy for AI and advanced technologies (0:35), what the Bureau of Industry and Security's new controls on Huawei's Ascend chips mean for China's AI ecosystem (10:09), and our biggest takeaways from President Trump's visit to the Middle East (19:07).

In this episode, we discuss the Trump administration’s decision to rescind the AI Diffusion Framework (1:34), the message of top AI executives in their recent Senate testimony (20:03), what AI adoption could mean for the IRS (35:15), the U.S. Copyright Office’s latest report on generative AI training (44:44), and what AI policy might look like in the new papacy (49:24).

In this episode, we discuss what the Trump administration's Fiscal Year 2026 budget request means for federal AI spending, what might happen to the AI Diffusion Framework before its May 15 implementation deadline, and what the Chinese Communist Party Politburo's Study Session on AI indicates about China's AI ambitions. 

On May 1, 2025, the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center hosted Alexandr Wang, Founder and CEO of Scale AI, a company accelerating AI development by delivering expert-level data and technology solutions to leading AI labs, multinational enterprises, and governments. He shared his insights on key issues shaping the future of AI policy, such as U.S.-China AI competition, international AI governance, and the new administration’s approach to AI innovation, regulation, and global standards. Alexandr founded Scale AI in 2016 as a 19-year-old MIT student with the vision of providing the critical data and infrastructure needed for complex AI projects. Under his leadership, Scale AI has grown to nearly a $14 billion valuation, serving hundreds of customers across industries ranging from finance to government agencies, and creating flexible, impactful AI work for hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. Watch full event at the following link: https://www.csis.org/analysis/scale-ais-alexandr-wang-securing-us-ai-leadership  

In this episode, we discuss OSTP Director Michael Kratsios’s recent speech on US technology policy at the Endless Frontiers Retreat (0:19), the Trump administration’s decision to control the Nvidia H20 chip (10:48), and what Huawei’s announcement of the Ascend 920 chip means for U.S.-China AI competition (18:24).

In this episode of the AI Policy Podcast, Wadhwani AI Center Director Gregory C. Allen is joined by Andrew Freedman, Chief Strategic Officer at Fathom, an organization whose mission is to find, build, and scale the solutions needed to help society transition to a world with AI. They will discuss the origins and purpose of Fathom, key initiatives shaping AI policy around the country such as California Senate Bill 813, and the new administration's approach to AI governance. They will also unpack the concept of “Private AI Governance” and what it means for the future of the U.S. AI ecosystem.  Andrew Freedman is the Chief Strategic Officer at Fathom, boasting over 15 years of expertise in emerging industries and regulatory frameworks. Previously, he was a Partner at Forbes Tate Partners, where he led the firm's coalition work in technology and emerging regulatory sectors. Andrew has advised governments in California, Canada, and Massachusetts, and has been a speaker at major conferences like Code Conference and Aspen Ideas Fest. Earlier in his career, Andrew served as Chief of Staff to Colorado's Lieutenant Governor, where he established the Office of Early Childhood and secured a $45 million Race to the Top Grant. He also managed the Colorado Commits to Kids campaign, raising $11 million in three months for education funding. Andrew holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. from Tufts University. 

In this episode, we discuss what the Trump administration’s tariffs mean for the US AI ecosystem (2:42), reporting that Nvidia’s H20s will be exempt from export controls (8:58), the latest AI guidance from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (12:48), and the EU’s AI Continent Action Plan (17:07).

In this episode, we are joined by Matt Sheehan, fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. We discuss the evolution of China's AI policymaking process over the past decade (6:45), the key institutions shaping Chinese AI policy today (44:30), and the changing nature of China's attitude to AI safety (50:55). 

In this episode, we discuss AI companies' responses to the White House AI Action Plan Request For Information (RFI) related to key areas like export controls and AI governance (00:51), the release of the Joint California Policy Working Group on AI Frontier Models draft report (24:45), and how AI might be affecting the computer programming job market (40:10). 

In this episode of the AI Policy Podcast, Wadhwani AI Center Director Gregory C. Allen is joined by Dean Ball, Research Fellow in the Artificial Intelligence & Progress Project at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center. They will discuss how state and local governments are approaching AI regulation, what factors are shaping these efforts, where state and local efforts intersect, and how a fractured approach to governance might affect the AI policy landscape. In addition to his role at the George Mason University’s Mercatus Center, Dean Ball is the author of the Substack Hyperdimensional. Previously, he was Senior Program Manager for the Hoover Institution's State and Local Governance Initiative. Prior to his position at the Hoover Institution, he served as Executive Director of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation, based in Plymouth, Vermont and Washington, D.C. He also worked as the Deputy Director of State and Local Policy at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research from 2014–2018.

In this episode, we discuss the Wadhwani AI Center’s latest publication on the implications of DeepSeek for the future of export controls (0:40), Chinese company Manus AI (9:05), what Secretary Hegseth’s memo means for the DOD AI ecosystem (15:27), and xAI’s acquisition of 1 million square feet for its new data center in Memphis (21:28). 

In this special episode, we are joined by Georgia Adamson, Research Associate at the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center, Lennart Heim, Associate Information Scientist at RAND, and Sam Winter-Levy, Fellow for Technology and International Affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. We outline the biggest takeaways from our recent report about the UAE's role in the global AI race (2:34), the details of the Microsoft-G42 deal (17:21), our assessment of the UAE-China relationship when it comes to AI technology (25:45), and the future of export controls (44:07).