Steve Clean Expertise, Innovation, and Nice Energy Competitors – 2023 Wrap Up

February 21, 2024

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We simply wrapped up the third yr of our Expertise, Innovation, and Nice Energy Competitors class –a part of Stanford’s Gordian Knot Middle for Nationwide Safety Innovation.

Joe Felter, Mike Brown and I educate the category to:

Give our college students an appreciation of the challenges and alternatives for america in its enduring strategic competitors with the Individuals’s Republic of China, Russia and different rivals.
Provide insights on how business know-how (AI, autonomy, cyber, quantum, semiconductors, entry to house, biotech, hypersonics, and others) are radically altering how we’ll compete throughout all the weather of nationwide energy e.g. diplomatic, informational, navy, financial, monetary, intelligence and legislation enforcement (our affect and footprint on the world stage).
Expose college students to experiential studying on coverage questions. College students shaped groups, bought out of the classroom and talked to the stakeholders and developed coverage suggestions.

Why This Class?
The popularity that america is engaged in long-term strategic competitors with the Peoples Republic of China and Russia turned a centerpiece of the 2017 Nationwide Safety Technique and 2018 Nationwide Protection Technique. The 2021 interim Nationwide Safety Steering and the administration’s just lately launched 2022 Nationwide Safety Technique clarify that China has quickly change into extra assertive and is the one competitor doubtlessly able to combining its financial, diplomatic, navy, and technological energy to mount a sustained problem to a secure and open worldwide system. And as we’ve seen in Ukraine, Russia stays decided to wage a brutal struggle to play a disruptive function on the world stage.

Prevailing on this competitors would require greater than merely buying the fruits of this technological revolution; it is going to require a paradigm shift within the considering of how this know-how could be quickly built-in into new capabilities and platforms to drive new operational and organizational ideas and methods that change and optimize the best way we compete.

Class Group
The readings, lectures, and visitor audio system explored how rising business applied sciences pose challenges and create alternatives for america in its strategic competitors with nice energy rivals with an emphasis on the Individuals’s Republic of China. We targeted on the challenges created when U.S. authorities companies, our federal analysis labs, and authorities contractors now not have unique entry to those superior applied sciences.

This course included all that you’d anticipate from a Stanford graduate-level class within the Masters in Worldwide Coverage – complete readings, visitor lectures from present and former senior officers/specialists, and written papers. What makes the category distinctive nonetheless, is that that is an experiential coverage class. College students shaped small groups and launched into a quarter-long challenge that bought them out of the classroom to:

establish a precedence nationwide safety problem, after which …
validate the issue and suggest an in depth resolution examined in opposition to precise stakeholders within the know-how and nationwide safety ecosystem.

The category was cut up into three components.

Half 1, weeks 1 via 4 lined the worldwide relations theories that try to clarify the dynamics of interstate competitors between highly effective states, U.S. nationwide safety and nationwide protection methods and insurance policies guiding our strategy to Nice Energy Competitors particularly targeted on the Individuals’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese language Communist Get together (CCP).

In between components 1 and a couple of of the category, the scholars had a midterm particular person challenge. It required them to write down a 2,000-word coverage memo describing how a U.S. competitor is utilizing a particular know-how to counter U.S. pursuits and a proposal for a way the U.S. ought to reply.

Half 2, weeks 5 via 8, dove into the business applied sciences: semiconductors, house, cyber, AI and Machine Studying, Excessive Efficiency Computing, and Biotech. Every week the scholars needed to learn 5-10 articles (see class readings right here.) And every week we had visitor audio system on nice energy competitors, and know-how and its influence on nationwide energy and lectures/class dialogue.

Visitor Audio system
Along with the instructing group, the course drew on the expertise and experience of visitor lecturers from trade and from throughout U.S. Authorities companies to supply context and perspective on business applied sciences and nationwide safety.

The scholars had been privileged to listen to from extraordinary visitor audio system with vital expertise and credibility on a spread of subjects associated to the course aims. Highlights of this yr’s audio system embody:

On Nationwide Safety and American exceptionalism: Basic Jim Mattis, US Marine Corps (Ret.), former Secretary of Protection.

On China’s actions and efforts to compete with the U.S.: Matt Pottinger – former Deputy Nationwide Safety Advisor, Elizabeth Financial system – main China scholar and former Dept of Commerce Senior Advisor for China, Tai Ming Cheung, – Creator of Innovate to Dominate: The Rise of the Chinese language Techno-Safety State.

On U.S. – China Coverage: Congressman Mike Gallagher, Chair Home Choose Committe on China.

On Innovation and Nationwide Safety: Chris Brose – Creator of The Kill Chain, Doug Beck – Director of the Protection Innovation Unit, Anja Manuel – Government Director of the Aspen Technique and Safety Discussion board.

For Biotech: Ben Kirukup – senior biologist US Navy, Ed You – FBI Particular Agent Organic Countermeasures Unit, Deborah Rosenblum – Asst Sec of Protection for Nuclear, Chemical, and Organic Protection Applications, Joe DeSimone – Professor Chemical Engineering.

For AI: Jared Dunnmon – Technical Director for AI on the Protection Innovation Unit, Lt. Gen. (Ret) Jack Shanahan – Director, Joint Synthetic Intelligence Middle, Anshu Roy- CEO Rhombus AI

For Cyber: Anne Neuberger – deputy nationwide safety advisor for cyber

For Semiconductors: Larry Diamond – Senior Fellow on the Hoover Establishment

Considerably, the scholars had been capable of hear the Chinese language perspective on U.S. – China competitors from Dr. Jia Qingguo – Member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of China.

The category closed with a stirring speak and name to motion by former Nationwide Safety Advisor LTG ret H.R. McMaster.

Within the weeks in-between we had instructing group lectures adopted by audio system that led discussions on the crucial business applied sciences.

Workforce-based Experiential Venture
The third a part of the category was distinctive – a quarter-long, team-based challenge. College students shaped groups of 4-6 and chosen a nationwide safety problem dealing with a corporation or company throughout the U.S. Authorities. They developed hypotheses of how business applied sciences can be utilized in new and artistic methods to assist the U.S. wield its devices of nationwide energy. And in line with all our Gordian Knot Middle courses, they bought out of the classroom. and interviewed 20+ beneficiaries, coverage makers, and different key stakeholders testing their hypotheses and proposed options.

Hacking For Coverage – Last Shows:
On the finish of the quarter, every pupil groups’ coverage suggestions had been summarized in a 10-minute presentation. The presentation was the story of the group’s studying journey, describing the place they began, the place they ended, and the important thing inflection factors of their understanding of the issue. (A written 3000 phrase report adopted specializing in their suggestions for addressing their chosen safety problem and describing how their options could be applied with velocity and urgency.)

By the tip of the category all of the groups realized that the coverage downside they’d chosen had morphed into one thing larger, deeper, and rather more fascinating.

Their coverage displays are under.

The category is as exhausting to show because it to take. We’ve got an superior set of instructing assistants.