The New Technological Arms Race

When it comes to global dominance, military technology has always been a major geopolitical driver. For decades, the West set the rules on innovation using soft power and government funding to develop its own exclusive cutting-edge defensive capabilities. But in the digital era, the breakthroughs – be it AI systems and autonomous drones, satellite internet or advanced semiconductors – are coming from private companies, not government labs.

In his new book, Bytes and Bullets, Steve Feldstein uses captivating stories and original field research to show how the West’s dominance is being undercut at every turn by a combination of commercialisation, authoritarian convergence led by China and Russia, and the emergence of new regional powers hungry for more influence.

A new tech cold war is coming into focus fast and restrictions and sanctions are no longer enough to maintain international stability. Join us at The Conduit for a conversation from the front line of this pivotal moment in history, chaired by Formation Advisory’s Alex Krook, and an urgent call for the West to act now, or risk losing its international standing forever.

Speakers

Steven Feldstein is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a highly regarded thinker and speaker. Previously serving as a senior official at USAID, he is considered an international expert on technology, democracy, and national security. His first book, The Rise of Digital Repression, won the 2023 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. Feldstein has appeared on CNBC, C-SPAN, NPR, and BBC, and his writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, and Lawfare, among others.

Alex Krook leads policy and engagement for the AI and Geopolitics Project (AIxGEO) at the Bennett School of Public Policy. She is also a Senior Associate at technology policy consultancy Formation Advisory. Alex focuses on the geopolitics of technology, working with the wider AIxGEO team to critically analyse the AI arms race narrative and provide foundations for stakeholders to cooperate in shaping the development of AI. She has previously worked within the public policy programme of the UK’s national research institute for data science and AI, including co-organising the world’s first Children’s AI Summit and hosting the annual Turing Lecture series, as well as for NGOs and third sector organisations in the UK and internationally.Alex holds an MSc in Digital Anthropology from University College London, where her research focussed on participatory data stewardship and digital society and policy, and an MA in Modern History from the University of Oxford. She is a Visiting Researcher at place-based data trust initiative Prospect Brixham.