We simply wrapped up the second yr of our Know-how, Innovation, and Nice Energy Competitors class – now a part of our Stanford Gordian Knot Middle for Nationwide Safety Innovation.

Joe Felter, Raj Shah and I designed the category to 1) 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, and a pair of) provide insights on how business expertise (AI, machine studying, 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, army, financial, monetary, intelligence and legislation enforcement (our affect and footprint on the world stage).

Why This Class?
The return of strategic competitors between nice powers turned a centerpiece of the 2017 Nationwide Safety Technique and 2018 Nationwide Protection Technique. The 2021 Interim Nationwide Safety Steering and the administration’s not too long ago 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, army, and technological energy to mount a sustained problem to a steady and open worldwide system. And as we’ve seen within the Ukraine, Russia stays decided to wage a brutal warfare 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 would require a paradigm shift within the considering of how this expertise will be quickly built-in into new capabilities and platforms to drive new operational and organizational ideas and methods that change and optimize the way in which 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 strategic competitors with nice energy rivals with an emphasis on the Individuals’s Republic of China. We centered on the challenges created when U.S. authorities companies, our federal analysis labs, and authorities contractors 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/consultants, 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 1) establish a precedence nationwide safety problem, after which to 2) validate the issue and suggest an in depth resolution examined in opposition to precise stakeholders within the expertise and nationwide safety ecosystem.

The category was cut up into three elements. Half 1, weeks 1 by way of 4 coated worldwide relations theories, methods and insurance policies round Nice Energy Competitors particularly centered on the Individuals’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Communist Peoples Celebration (CCP). Half 2, weeks 5 by way of 8, dove into the business applied sciences: semiconductors, house, cyber, AI and Machine Studying, Excessive Efficiency Computing, and Biotech. In between elements 1 and a pair of of the category, the scholars had a midterm particular person challenge. It required them to put in writing a 2,000-word coverage memo describing how a U.S. competitor is utilizing a particular expertise to counter U.S. pursuits and a proposal for the way the U.S. ought to reply. (These coverage memos had been reviewed by Tarun Chhabra, the Senior Director for Know-how and Nationwide Safety on the Nationwide Safety Council.)

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 expertise and its influence on nationwide energy and lectures/class dialogue.

Visitor Audio system
Along with the educating workforce, 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.

Our class opened with three visitor audio system; former U.S. Secretary of Protection James Mattis and the CIA’s CTO and COO Nand Mulchandani and Andy Makridis. The final class closed with a chat by Google ex-Chairman Eric Schmidt.

Within the weeks in-between we had educating workforce lectures adopted by audio system that led discussions on the crucial business applied sciences. For semiconductors, the White Home Coordinator for the CHIPS Act – Ronnie Chatterji, and the CTO of Utilized Supplies – Om Nalamasu. For business tech integration and house, former Protection Innovation Unit (DIU) Director Mike Brown and B. Normal Bucky Butow – Director of the House Portfolio. For Synthetic Intelligence, Lt. Gen. (Ret) Jack Shanahan, former director of the Joint Synthetic Intelligence Middle. And for artificial biology Stanford Professor Drew Endy – President, BioBricks Basis.

Workforce-based Experiential Undertaking
The third a part of the category was distinctive – a quarter-long, team-based challenge. College students shaped groups and 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 according to 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. On the finish of the quarter, every of the groups gave a closing “Classes Discovered” presentation and adopted up with a 3,000 to five,000-word team-written paper.

By the tip of the category all of the groups realized that the issue they’d chosen had morphed into one thing greater, deeper, and rather more attention-grabbing.

Workforce 1: Local weather Change

Authentic Drawback Assertion: What combos of applied sciences and worldwide monetary relationships ought to the US prioritize to mitigate local weather change?

Closing Drawback Assertion: How ought to the US handle China’s dominance in photo voltaic panels?

In case you can’t see the presentation click on right here.

We knew that these college students may write an awesome analysis paper. As we identified to them, whilst you will be the neatest particular person within the constructing, it’s unlikely that 1) all of the details are within the constructing, 2) you’re smarter than the collective intelligence sitting outdoors the constructing.

Workforce 2: Networks

Authentic Drawback Assertion: How would possibly we implement a ubiquitous safe world entry to the web so as to assist circumvent censorship in authoritarian regimes?

 Closing Drawback Assertion: How can we create an open, free Web and keep efficient strains of communication in Taiwan in preparation for a possible invasion?

In case you can’t see the presentation click on right here

By week 2 of the category college students shaped groups round a particular expertise problem going through a US authorities company and labored all through the course to develop their very own proposals to assist the U.S. compete extra successfully by way of new operational ideas, organizations, and/or methods.

Workforce 3: Acquisition

Authentic Drawback Assertion: How can the U.S. Division of Protection match or beat the pace of nice energy opponents in buying and integrating crucial applied sciences?

Closing Drawback Assertion: How can the U.S. Division of Protection deploy different funding mechanisms in parallel to conventional procurement automobiles to allow and incentivize the supply of crucial next-generation expertise in below 5 years?

In case you can’t see the presentation click on right here

We needed to provide our college students hands-on expertise on the way to deeply perceive an issue on the intersection of our nation’s diplomacy, data, its army capabilities, financial energy, finance, intelligence, and legislation enforcement and dual-use expertise. First by having them develop hypotheses about the issue; subsequent by getting out of the classroom and speaking to related stakeholders throughout authorities, trade, and academia to validate their assumptions; and eventually by taking what they discovered to suggest and prototype options to those issues.

Matt Kaplan: “The TIGPC class was a spotlight of my educational expertise at Stanford. Over the ten week quarter, I discovered an incredible quantity concerning the significance of expertise in world politics from the three professors and from the consultants in authorities, enterprise, and academia who got here to talk. The category epitomizes a number of the finest elements of my time right here: the chance to be taught from unimaginable, caring college and to work with inspiring classmates. Joe, Steve, Raj instilled in my classmates and me a recent sense of pleasure to work in public service.”

 Workforce 4: Wargames

Authentic Drawback Assertion: The U.S. wants a means, given a consultant simulation, to quickly discover a technique for attainable novel makes use of of present platforms and weapons.

Closing Drawback Assertion: Strategic wargames stand to profit from a stronger integration of AI+ML however are struggling to search out adoption and utilization. How can this be addressed?

In case you can’t see the presentation click on right here

We wish our college students to construct the reflexes and expertise to deeply perceive an issue by gathering first-hand data and validating that the issue they’re fixing is the actual downside, not a symptom of one thing else. Then, college students started quickly constructing minimal viable options (coverage, software program, {hardware} …) as a approach to take a look at and validate their understanding of each the issue and what it might take to unravel it.

Etienne Reche-Ley: “Know-how, Innovation and Nice Energy Competitors gave me a possibility to dive into an actual world nationwide safety risk to america and perceive the implications of it inside the nice energy competitors. Not like every other class I’ve taken at Stanford, this class allowed me to take motion on our downside about networks, censorship and the dearth of free circulate of data in authoritarian regimes, and gave me the possibility to satisfy and be taught from a mess of consultants on the subject. I completed this class with a deep understanding of our downside, a proposed actionable resolution and a newfound curiosity within the intersection of expertise and innovation because it applies to nationwide protection. I’m very grateful to have been a part of this course, and it has impressed me to go a step additional and pursue a profession associated to nationwide safety.”

Workforce 6: Disinformation

Authentic Drawback Assertion: Disinformation is a nationwide safety risk.

Closing Drawback Assertion: The U.S.’s means to shut the disinformation response kill chain is hampered by an absence of coordination between U.S. authorities  companies,  no clear possession of the disinformation downside, and an absence of  clear tips on public-private partnerships.

In case you can’t see the presentation click on right here

One different objective of the category was to proceed to validate and refine our pedagogy of mixing a standard lecture class with an experiential challenge. We did this by tasking the scholars to 1) use what they discovered from the lectures and a pair of) then take a look at their assumptions outdoors the classroom, the exterior enter they acquired can be a drive multiplier. It will make the lecture materials actual, tangible and actionable. And we and they’d find yourself with one thing fairly priceless.

Shreyas Lakhtakia: “TIGPC is an interdisciplinary class like no different. It’s a fabulous introduction to a number of the most important tech and geopolitical challenges and questions of the twenty first century. The category, just like the subjects it covers, is unimaginable and impressive – it’s a good way to degree up your understanding of not simply worldwide coverage, political idea and expertise coverage but additionally deep tech and the function of startups in projecting nationwide energy. In case you’re inquisitive about the way forward for the world and the function of the US in it, you gained’t discover a extra distinctive course, a extra devoted educating workforce or higher audio system to listen to from than this!”

Workforce 7: Quantum Know-how

Authentic Drawback Assertion: China’s deliberate authorities funding in quantum dwarfs that of the U.S. by an element of 10.

Closing Drawback Assertion: The US quantum ecosystem doesn’t generate sufficient consciousness of alternatives to pursue careers in quantum that might catalyze trade development.

In case you can’t see the presentation click on right here

We knew we had been asking loads from our college students. We had been integrating a lecture class with a heavy studying listing with the perfect practices of speculation testing from Lean Launchpad/Hacking for Protection/I-Corps. However I’ve but to guess mistaken in pushing college students previous what they suppose is affordable. Most rise means above the event.

 Workforce 9: Lithium-Ion Batteries

Authentic Drawback Assertion: Provide and manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries is centered in China. How can the U.S. change into aggressive?

Closing Drawback Assertion: China controls the processing of crucial supplies used for lithium-ion batteries. To regain management the DOE must incentivize brief and long-term methods to extend processing of crucial supplies and reduce dependence on lithium-ion batteries.

In case you can’t see the presentation click on right here

All of our college students put in extraordinary quantity of labor. Our college students got here from a various set of background and pursuits – from undergraduate sophomores to fifth yr PhD’s – in a combination together with worldwide coverage, economics, laptop science, enterprise, legislation and engineering. Some will go on to senior roles in State, Protection, coverage or different companies. Others will be part of or discovered the businesses constructing new disruptive applied sciences. They’ll be those to find out what the world-order will appear to be for the remainder of the century and past. Will or not it’s a rules-based order the place states cooperate to pursue a shared imaginative and prescient for a free and open area and the place the sovereignty of all nations giant and small is protected below worldwide legislation? Or will or not it’s an autocratic and dystopian future coerced and imposed by a neo-totalitarian regime?

This class modified the trajectory of lots of our college students. A quantity expressed newfound curiosity in exploring profession choices within the subject of nationwide safety. A number of will probably be benefiting from alternatives offered by the Gordian Knot Middle for Nationwide Safety Innovation to additional pursue their contribution to nationwide safety.

This course and our work at Stanford’s Gordian Knot Middle wouldn’t be attainable with out the unrelenting assist and steering from Ambassador Mike McFaul and Professor Riitta Katila, GKC founding college and Principal Investigators, and the tenacity of David Hoyt, Gordian Knot Middle Assistant Director.

Classes Discovered

• We mixed lecture and experiential studying so our college students can act on issues not simply admire them
  • The exterior enter the scholars acquired was a drive multiplier
  • It made the lecture materials actual, tangible and actionable
  • Pushing college students previous what they suppose is affordable ends in extraordinary output. Most rise means above the event
• The category creates alternatives for our greatest and brightest to interact and deal with challenges on the nexus of expertise, innovation and nationwide safety
  • The ultimate displays and papers from the category are proof that may occur

Filed below: Know-how Innovation and Nice Energy Competitors |