#61. Emerging Uses of A.I. for Social Control and Weapon Systems

Paul Scharre is the Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security, an independent, bipartisan, nonprofit organization that develops strong, pragmatic, and principled national security and defense policies. An expert in emerging weapons technologies, he led working groups at the U.S. Department of Defense to establish policies on autonomous weapon systems, as well as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance programs. His prior experiences in the military include multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, serving as a special operations reconnaissance team leader.

Scharre has published articles in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, among other prominent print media and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, NPR, and the BBC. He has testified before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and has presented at the United Nations, NATO, the Pentagon, the CIA, and other national security venues. He holds a PhD in war studies from King’s College London and an MA in political economy and public policy and a BS in physics from Washington University in St. Louis.

​His first book, Army of None: Autonomous Weapons and the Future of War, won the 2019 Colby Award and was named one of Bill Gates’ top five books of 2018 and by The Economist as one of the top five books to understand modern warfare. In 2023, TIME magazine named him as one of the “100 most influential people in AI.” His most recent book, entitled Four Battlegrounds: Power in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, is the subject of today’s interview.

Recorded 10/17/23.