All Things AI: An Interview With White House AI Guru Ben Buchanan

All Things AI: An Interview With White House AI Guru Ben Buchanan

Author: Silverado Policy Accelerator December 8, 2023 Duration: 46:22
Dmitri Alperovitch comes to the White House to interview Dr. Ben Buchanan, the White House Special Advisor on AI, about: - The risks and benefits of AI - What the US government is trying to achieve with the President’s Executive Order on AI - Why Terminator AIs are not coming to kill us but evil people using AI just might - What the requirements to report to US government about the development of cutting-edge foundational models is all about - How the US can maintain its lead in this technology - White House’s thinking on open source AI models - US government’s international AI strategy - The plan for how to use AI inside US government - The purpose and mission of the new AI Safety Review Board - And why US government is concerned about China’s use of AI - And much more Ben Buchanan’s last book on AI (The New Fire: War, Peace, and Democracy in the Age of AI): https://www.amazon.com/New-Fire-War-Peace-Democracy/dp/0262046547 His previous book on cybersecurity (The Hacker and the State: Cyber Attacks and the New Normal of Geopolitics): https://www.amazon.com/Hacker-State-Attacks-Normal-Geopolitics/dp/0674987551 Dmitri’s upcoming book "World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the Twenty-First Century": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CF1TKHY2

Hosted by Dmitri Alperovitch and presented by the Silverado Policy Accelerator, Geopolitics Decanted offers a deep and nuanced examination of the forces shaping our world. This isn't about quick headlines; it's a podcast dedicated to patient, detailed analysis and substantive conversations with leading experts. Each episode distills complex international issues, moving beyond superficial narratives to explore the underlying strategies, technologies, and economic instruments at play. You'll hear focused discussions on ongoing conflicts like the war in Ukraine, the multifaceted competition between major powers, and the evolving tools of statecraft, from economic sanctions and export controls to cybersecurity threats and the global race for semiconductor supremacy. Geopolitics Decanted is for those who feel that understanding global affairs requires more than sound bites-it demands context, historical perspective, and a willingness to engage with the granular details that truly define geopolitical shifts. Through these in-depth interviews and Alperovitch's own commentary, the podcast provides listeners with a clearer, more comprehensive framework for making sense of an increasingly interconnected and contested global landscape.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 79

Geopolitics Decanted with Dmitri Alperovitch
Podcast Episodes
How to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:46
Three weeks into the US-Israel war with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed — and reopening it may be far harder and slower than many may realize. Dmitri Alperovitch talks to RADM Mark Montgomery (Ret.), who has tr…
What Happens if the Supreme Court Kills Trump’s Tariffs? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:59
Dmitri Alperovitch and Silverado trade experts Sarah Stewart and John Corrigan examine the implications of the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on Trump's reciprocal and fentanyl tariffs. They explore the stakes of this con…
Why The China Trade Truce Is Unlikely to Last [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:42
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Sarah Stewart, CEO at Silverado and former senior US trade negotiator, about the Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea. They discuss the details of the agreement reached and why it is a temporary…
Keeping Russian Economy Afloat: Kremlin's Economic High Wire Act [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:52
Is Russia close to an economic collapse? Dmitri Alperovitch sits down with Chris Weafer, an expert on the Russian economy, to assess how long the Kremlin can keep this high wire act going. 00:00 Introduction 01:17 Curren…
Why Drones Can’t Replace Traditional Firepower [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:38
Dmitri Alperovitch talks to air power expert Justin Bronk about why it's a bad idea for Western militaries to follow Ukraine's lead and overly invest in production of small drones like FPVs and other loitering munitions.…
Why America's Nuclear Deterrence Strategy Needs to Change [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:22
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Vipin Narang, a former Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy, a portfolio which includes U.S nuclear weapons employment strategy, about why we are now entering the New Nucle…
Assessing the Damage to Iran’s Nuclear Program [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:23
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear nonproliferation expert, to assess the damage that has been inflicted upon the Iranian nuclear program over the course of the past 11 days and potential for reco…
The Israel-Iran War: Possibilities and the Dangers of Overreach [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:21
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Israeli Gen Amos Yadlin (Ret.), perhaps the world’s only person who has participated in the destruction of three Middle Eastern nuclear weapons programs: first, as an F-16 pilot in 1981 agai…
Why North Korea Is Planning a Second Korean War and How to Stop It [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:21
Dmitri Alperovitch sits down with Andrei Lankov, one of the west’s foremost experts on North Korea, and Sergey Radchenko, a leading Cold War historian, for a deep dive into North Korea. They discuss the threats posed by…
The One Factor That Could Crash the Russian Economy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:17
Dmitri Alperovitch talks with Russian economy expert Chris Weafer about the state of the Russian economy in 2025. They talk about inflation and its impact on people and business, why the ruble is collapsing, which sancti…