Today, Steven Koonin lays out the challenges and trade-offs involved in attempting to regulate the development of frontier AI models; H.R. McMaster speaks with the Prime Minister of Greece about security cooperation and economic development in the Eastern Mediterranean; and Elizabeth Economy discusses the Chinese Mao-era Long March sketches held at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Artificial Intelligence
In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, Senior Fellow Steven E. Koonin notes that, with President Trump’s June 2 executive order on AI, the administration aims to walk a fine line, gaining “visibility into frontier capabilities without slowing American labs and advantaging China.” But Koonin says that trying to regulate AI as applied to various settings, such as healthcare or hiring, is very different from “regulating the development of increasingly capable AI at the global frontier.” Verification presents the first challenge. “Unlike a nuclear-weapons program,” Koonin writes, “an AI lab emits no radiation, handles no controlled materials, and leaves no atmospheric or seismic traces.” Self-interest and the reality of beneficial uses for AI present further challenges for regulating the frontiers of the industry, Koonin argues. Noting that adversary nations of greatest concern will never comply with an executive order emanating from Washington, Koonin cautions the administration not to premise their policies “on controlling something that can’t be controlled.” The op-ed builds on Koonin’s new research paper, “Regulating AI Development: Challenges, Constraints, and a Realist Agenda,” available now on the Hoover site. Read more here.
US Foreign Policy in Europe
Join Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Senior Fellow H.R. McMaster in this special new episode of Today’s Battlegrounds as they discuss Greece’s economic resurgence, the country’s expanding role in international security, and the future of US-Greek cooperation. Reflecting on the economic, security, and governance challenges reshaping Europe and the wider international order, Mitsotakis and McMaster discuss Greece’s efforts to modernize government, address migration and border security, and strengthen European competitiveness. They also examine transatlantic cooperation, Russia’s war against Ukraine and its implications for European security, instability in the Middle East, security challenges in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the evolving US-Greece partnership. Watch or listen here.
Confronting and Competing with China
In a new episode of the Reflections video series, Senior Fellow and China expert Elizabeth Economy discusses the Long March sketches held at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. As Economy explains, Mao Zedong and his Communist comrades undertook the Long March in 1934, traveling some 6,000 miles during the course of one year, before settling in Shaanxi province in October 1935. Huang Zhen, one of Mao’s cadres, drew two dozen black-ink sketches during the journey. In this video, Economy—a former senior advisor on China in the US Department of Commerce—examines the original Long March sketches housed in Hoover’s collections. Watch here.
International Affairs
At National Security Journal, Senior Fellow Russell Berman analyzes the significance of a recent race within the UN over two non-permanent seats on the Security Council reserved for European states. In a not particularly close race, Berman notes, “Germany was edged out by Portugal and Austria.” He adds that given Germany’s historical prominence in international diplomacy and security affairs, “the loss has been viewed as a significant blow to Germany’s diplomatic prestige.” Berman considers the multiple reasons why UN member states might have chosen not to back Germany, from its support of Ukraine to “feminist foreign policy” initiatives that “placed Berlin at odds with more socially conservative governments across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.” Zooming out, Berman sees in this vote evidence that “traditional powers are losing their standing” as the geopolitical order is reshaped. Read more here.
Freedom Frequency
In a new essay for Freedom Frequency’s Liberty Amplified channel, Grace McGoran, a Stanford undergraduate and the president and captain of Stanford Women’s Club Soccer, argues that sport represents far more than competition—it is a vehicle for freedom, agency, and human flourishing. Drawing on her experience as a soccer player and her mentorship under World Cup champion Brandi Chastain, McGoran contends that sport teaches accountability, teamwork, and self-expression while creating opportunities for growth and inclusion. She contrasts these benefits with the ways authoritarian regimes exploit sport through “sportswashing” or restrict women’s participation altogether, citing examples from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Iran. McGoran concludes that expanding access to sport is essential worldwide, writing that “sport—particularly for women and girls—is freedom.” Read more here.
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