Harvard's Belfer Center

Geopolitics returned to the forefront of Arctic conversations this year at the 2024 Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland. We set down with John P Holdren, Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and Co-Chair of the Belfer Center's Arctic Initiative, to talk about Chinese interests in the Arctic region, challenges following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and international scientific diplomacy.

How can AI agents revolutionize military decision-making? Fellows Richard Farnell and Kira Coffey write that the United States Department of Defense should aggressively begin experimenting with Agentic AI tools, a category of AI that can work through a series of tasks on its own to achieve an assigned, complex objectives) in its Joint Operational Planning Process (JOPP).

Applications to join the Harvard's Belfer Center for the 2025-2026 fellowship cycle are open until December 1st! The Arctic Initiative will be hosting an information session for interested applicants on 11/4 at 10:30 am EST. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eTwztaDS The Arctic Initiative is inviting applications to join their team and further research on the following topics: - Sustainable ocean management - Permafrost thaw - Resilience in the far north For more information visit: https://lnkd.in/eGMhQkHb

Israel and Iran are now on the brink of open warfare. This shift undermines the use of ambiguity, the possibility of denial or containment, brings the region closer to a boiling point, and increases the importance of diplomacy, writes Assaf Zoran in The National Interest.

Fascinating lecture and presentation today at the Harvard's Belfer Center of the Harvard Kennedy School for the launch of Kevin Rudd’s new book: ‘On Xi Jinping’, expertly moderated as you’d expect by one of the greatest geopolitical experts of our time and Dillon Professor of Government at the Harvard Kennedy School: Graham T. Allison. Quite tellingly, he mentionned three key areas of technological competition with the United States: Semiconductors, AI, and … Quantum Computing ! Time for all these boards still debating their companies’ technological future to get on the Quantum bandwagon ? #quantumcomputing #AI #Semiconductors

Outside of the U.S., how do leaders view Harris and Trump? The Harvard Gazette reports on views by Rana Mitter, Harvard Kennedy School's S.T. Lee Chair of U.S.-Asia Relations, and Belfer Center Senior Fellow Ziad Daoud.

Belfer Center Senior Fellow Daniel Poneman, former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy, writes about the nexus of artificial intelligence, national security and the role of the Department of Energy in a new essay, “Putting the [Department of] Energy into AI, and Vice Versa.” Read the full essay, part of the “Intelligent Defense: Navigating National Security in the Age of AI” collection by Aspen Security Forum | Aspen Strategy Group , here: https://lnkd.in/eEJrZHSy

My new piece for Harvard's Belfer Center on the outcome of this week's BRICS Summit in Russia https://lnkd.in/d8Qy7QMm

As we remember Secretary Carter on the second anniversary of his passing, we are reminded how his unique insight, analysis and research is just as relevant today as it was five, or ten, or even twenty years ago. In 1999, for example, twenty-three years before Russia invaded Ukraine, Harvard's Belfer Center published a report by Ash Carter, Professor Steve Miller and Liz Sherwood-Randall – now serving as President Biden’s Homeland Security Advisor – about the importance of building an enduring security relationship between Ukraine and NATO. Read the report here ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ ⬇ https://lnkd.in/eQk-Zcfe

At the Harvard's Belfer Center, we are committed to fostering international dialogue on the most critical issues of our time. This week, we had the privilege of taking Carme Artigas to the Boston Globe Media to discuss her recent report for the United Nations AI Advisory Body, "Governing AI for Humanity." The report urges the UN to establish a globally inclusive architecture for AI governance rooted in international cooperation. Among the report's key recommendations: - Global AI Panel: Impartial, reliable AI expertise. - UN AI Policy Dialogue: Collaborative governance rooted in human rights. - AI Standards Exchange: Cross-border system interoperability. - Global AI Network: Training and resources for AI governance. - AI Fund: Closing capacity gaps and driving SDG progress. - AI Data Framework: Transparent, accountable data standards. - UN AI Office: Coordinating global AI governance efforts. AI governance is a global challenge requiring global solutions, and we are proud to help bring these critical conversations to the forefront. Read the full report here ⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇ https://lnkd.in/eNnfMrAQ