CSIS Economic Security and Technology Department

China is often portrayed as either unstoppable or failing to push tech frontiers. The U.S. is celebrated as the AI leader but criticized for dependence on rivals. CSIS EST experts argue the reality is more complex—and instructive: "The question is whether the United States will reassert scientific, engineering, and manufacturing prowess, especially where it has lost ground, or whether it will continue to cede leadership." Read more here: csis.org/analysis/tech-…

AI is Math: Can it be Export Controlled? Marc Andreessen (@a16z) recently on Betting on America: “AI is math. In the encryption case and the AI case, you find yourself trying to control the propagation of math, which is an extremely difficult thing." Watch the full episode with @NGirishankar here: youtu.be/1CdOEVq5fz8?si… csis.org/events/beyond-…

AI For Public Policy? "I wonder if we have an opportunity now to really accelerate evaluation in real time of what's working and what's not working, so it improves the quality of the debate on what policies we should undertake," Navin Girishankar (@CSIS) asks Marc Andreessen (@a16z) on Betting on America. Watch the full episode here: youtu.be/1CdOEVq5fz8?si…

What are the Four 'A's of AI? The 4 'A's of AI are "accessibility, affordability, augmentation, and advantage," according to @RepKamlagerDove (D-CA). "We want AI. We want tech. We want it to be affordable. We want it to be accessible. We want it to augment what we do, but not replace what we do, or who we are. And we want it to allow us to maintain an advantage over our adversaries." Watch the full episode of Betting on America with @NGirishankar here: csis.org/events/opportu…

New Podcast Episode! The AI Policy Podcast @CSIS_AI's Aalok Mehta and Nicole Errera discuss Illinois' AI safety bill, Anthropic's Alibaba allegations, and OpenAI's 5% government stake proposal. Listen here: csis.org/podcasts/ai-po…

New Podcast Episode! The Trade Guys Bill Reinsch and Scott Miller welcome Diego Marroquín Bitar (@DiegoTMEC), fellow with the @CSIS Americas Program, following the July 1, 2026, USMCA review deadline to discuss the U.S. decision not to renew the agreement and what lies ahead for the future of USMCA. Listen here: csis.org/podcasts/trade…

Why Every Layer of the AI Stack Counts "Many layers make up AI—chips, energy, models, applications, infrastructure," argues @RepKamlagerDove (D-CA). "In order to maintain a leading advantage, you have to be winning on all of those fronts." Watch the full episode of Betting on America with @NGirishankar here: csis.org/events/opportu…

“South Korea’s comparative advantage will erode unless its industrial strategy evolves from strengthening industries to orchestrating ecosystems. The strategic challenge is no longer simply to export more. It is to become indispensable,” writes @NGirishankar in his latest for @CSISEST. Read the full paper here: csis.org/analysis/expor…

In a new white paper, @CSISEST President @NGirishankar argues South Korea's second "Miracle on the Han River" hinges on becoming an ecosystem power—fusing capital, standards, tech, and know-how for the AI age. Read the full paper here: csis.org/analysis/expor…

🔴 Live now: "Opportunity and Security in the AI Economy" Featuring Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove Tune in to Betting on America as Congresswoman @RepKamlagerDove (D-CA) joins @NGirishankar to discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by AI and the broader reindustrialization process. She explores how to ensure that historically underserved communities benefit from technological transformation and shares her views on the U.S. trade agenda, its implications for the Indo-Pacific, and the importance of strong export controls. Watch here: csis.org/events/opportu…

New episode today! Tune in to Betting on America at 10 AM ET: "Opportunity and Security in the AI Economy" Featuring Congresswoman @RepKamlagerDove Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) joins @NGirishankar to discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by AI and the broader reindustrialization process. She explores how to ensure that historically underserved communities benefit from technological transformation and shares her views on the U.S. trade agenda, its implications for the Indo-Pacific, and the importance of strong export controls. More info: csis.org/events/opportu…

"The question is whether South Korea can evolve from one of the world’s most successful exporting nations into something rarer: an ecosystem power, a country whose firms occupy the architectural control points, including the interfaces, standards, certification systems, and platforms around which the world’s most consequential technologies and industries are organized," writes @NGirishankar in his latest for @CSIS. Read the full paper here: csis.org/analysis/expor…

Premiering tomorrow at 10:00 AM ET! Tune in to Betting on America this Wednesday at 10 AM ET as Congresswoman @RepKamlagerDove (D-CA) joins @NGirishankar to discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by AI and the broader reindustrialization process. More info: csis.org/events/opportu…

Many of us remember Concorde flights from decades ago, with their famed supersonic boom breaking the sound barrier, taking travelers across the Atlantic in less than three hours. Supersonic flight was always about more than just speed. It was about ambition and innovation and technological progress. But it came at a price: high production costs, rising fuel prices, environmental concerns, ultimately safety concerns. The FAA just proposed replacing decades-old speed restrictions with a modern, noise-based framework for next-generation supersonic flight. Now is a timely moment to revisit @NGirishankar's Betting on America episode with @boomsupersonic CEO and founder Blake Scholl (@bscholl) on what it will take to make commercial supersonic flight a reality. csis.org/analysis/reviv…

Is AI the Great Intelligence Equalizer? “You've said that intelligence, in a sense, is the real differentiator in human history with respect to progress. Does AI become the great equalizer on intelligence, or is it a magnifier of the differences?” @NGirishankar, President of @CSISEST, asks Marc Andreessen (@pmarca), Co-founder and General Partner at @a16z. Watch the full episode of Betting on America here: tinyurl.com/46de28zj

In this week's column, @CSIS_Trade's Bill Reinsch examines major legal and trade process developments involving the Alien Tort Statute, tariffs, and the USMCA review. Read the commentary here: csis.org/analysis/three…

Why is China Pursuing Open-Weight AI Models? Marc Andreessen (@pmarca of @a16z) and Navin Girishankar, President of @CSISEST, on open-source AI models and the U.S.-China technology race. Watch the full episode of Betting on America here: youtu.be/1CdOEVq5fz8?si…

The U.S.-Iran ceasefire has allowed ships to begin crossing the Strait of Hormuz again, but tensions remain high, and global energy markets are far from returning to normal. CSIS experts react to what this means for oil, gas, fertilizer, food prices, U.S.-Iran politics, global energy security, and more in our latest Experts React ⬇️ csis.org/analysis/what-…

Is the Entity List still keeping pace? New additions have slowed to their weakest rate since 2008 while supply chains keep shifting. Read the analysis by @CSIS_Trade's Kate Koren and Brad Spicher here: csis.org/analysis/entit…

Will South Asian governments and investors support extreme heat prevention measures before the losses become unavoidable? Read the new commentary by @CSISIndiaChair Senior Associate Anjali Kaur: csis.org/analysis/heat-…