We simply wrapped up the third yr of our Know-how, Innovation, and Nice Energy Competitors class –a part of Stanford’s Gordian Knot Heart 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 industrial know-how (AI, autonomy, cyber, quantum, semiconductors, entry to area, biotech, hypersonics, and others) are radically altering how we are going to compete throughout all the weather of nationwide energy e.g. diplomatic, informational, army, financial, monetary, intelligence and regulation enforcement (our affect and footprint on the world stage).
- Expose college students to experiential studying on coverage questions. College students fashioned groups, obtained 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 grew to become a centerpiece of the 2017 Nationwide Safety Technique and 2018 Nationwide Protection Technique. The 2021 interim Nationwide Safety Steerage and the administration’s just lately launched 2022 Nationwide Safety Technique clarify that China has quickly grow to be 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 in Ukraine, Russia stays decided to wage a brutal warfare to play a disruptive position 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 techniques that change and optimize the best way we compete.
Class Group
The readings, lectures, and visitor audio system explored how rising industrial 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 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 fashioned small groups and launched into a quarter-long venture that obtained them out of the classroom to:
- determine a precedence nationwide safety problem, after which …
- validate the issue and suggest an in depth resolution examined towards precise stakeholders within the know-how and nationwide safety ecosystem.
The category was cut up into three elements.
Half 1, weeks 1 by way of 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 centered on the Individuals’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Chinese language Communist Social gathering (CCP).
In between elements 1 and a couple of of the category, the scholars had a midterm particular person venture. It required them to put in writing 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 by way of 8, dove into the industrial applied sciences: semiconductors, area, 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 workforce, the course drew on the expertise and experience of visitor lecturers from trade and from throughout U.S. Authorities companies to offer context and perspective on industrial 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 variety of subjects associated to the course goals. 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 – Govt 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 Packages, 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 Heart, 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 workforce lectures adopted by audio system that led discussions on the essential industrial applied sciences.
Group-based Experiential Challenge
The third a part of the category was distinctive – a quarter-long, team-based venture. College students fashioned groups of 4-6 and chosen a nationwide safety problem going through a company or company throughout the U.S. Authorities. They developed hypotheses of how industrial 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 Heart courses, they obtained out of the classroom. and interviewed 20+ beneficiaries, coverage makers, and different key stakeholders testing their hypotheses and proposed options.
Hacking For Coverage – Closing Displays:
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 workforce’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 top of the category all of the groups realized that the coverage downside they’d chosen had morphed into one thing greater, deeper, and far more attention-grabbing.
Their coverage displays are under.
The category is as exhausting to show because it to take. Now we have an superior set of instructing assistants.
Group 1: Precision Match (AI for DoD Operations)
Click on right here to see the presentation.
What makes instructing worthwhile is the suggestions we get from our college students:
TIGPC has been the most effective class I’ve taken at Stanford and has precipitated me to do some reflection in what I need to do after my time at Stanford. I’m solely a sophomore however doing such a deep dive into vitality and (as Steve says) getting out of the constructing, I’m beginning to critically take into account a profession in clear vitality safety publish commencement.
Group 2: Outbound Funding to China
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Group 3: Open-Supply AI
Click on right here to see a abstract of the presentation.
Group 4: AlphaChem
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Certainly one of my takeaways from the category is which you can be the neatest particular person within the room, however you’ll by no means have as a lot data as everybody else mixed so go speak to individuals, it is going to make you far smarter
Group 5: South China Sea
Click on right here to see the presentation.
Superior class! … unimaginable in bringing prestigious visitor audio system into the category and having participating discussions. My background was not in nationwide safety and this class actually provided an vital perspective on the alternatives for know-how innovation to influence and assist with nationwide safety.
Group 6: Chinese language Actual Property Funding within the U.S.
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Group 7: Public Personal Partnerships
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Simply wished to let you understand that, as a Senior, this is without doubt one of the greatest courses I’ve taken throughout my 4 years at Stanford.
Group 8: Ukraine Help
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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 obtained was a pressure multiplier
- It made the lecture materials actual, tangible and actionable
- Lean downside fixing strategies could be successfully employed to handle urgent nationwide safety and coverage challenges
- This course was akin to a “Hacking for Coverage class” and could be tweaked and replicated going ahead.
- The category created alternatives for our greatest and brightest to have interaction and tackle challenges on the nexus of know-how, innovation and nationwide safety
- When college students are offered such alternatives they aggressively seize them with spectacular outcomes
- The ultimate displays and papers from the category are proof that may occur
- Pushing college students previous what they suppose is affordable ends in extraordinary output. Most rise method above the event
Filed underneath: Company/Gov’t Innovation, Gordian Knot Heart for Nationwide Safety Innovation, Nationwide Safety, Know-how Innovation and Nice Energy Competitors |