The Year Policymakers Woke Up to AI

Although the early focus on AI competition was on the industry itself, the conversation quickly expanded to how the transformative technology will impact geopolitics, which countries are best poised to take advantage of the moment, and what determines who comes out ahead.

Foreign Policy’s summer print issue was an early attempt to understand those debates, anchored by a lead essay by Paul Scharre, the executive vice president and director of studies at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Scharre argued that governments cannot afford to sit on the sidelines while big companies supercharge AI models to do bigger and better—or worse—things.

Many of Scharre’s predictions and prescriptions have come to pass, with several national and transnational regulatory efforts coming together in recent months. But 2024 will bring new challenges for regulators, including the possibility of AI making it easier to conduct malicious cyberattacks or helping to build bioweapons. Given how quickly such risks can evolve, it’s important to have a solid foundation.

Read the full article and more from Foreign Policy.